Dueling idols
by Fem-Gamer
Summary: What would you say if the person you had admired and looked up too for the last two years suddenly just showed up in front of you? Yugi felt like it was a dream come true but along with most idols comes a lot of drama. Will Atemu be worth everything Yugi will go through? Very AU, mostly Yugi/Atemu. Lots of cameo's from the original cast in this though!
1. Chapter 1

AN: So I tend to bounce story ideas off myself frequently and need to go between them in order to keep my attention. I have one story that is very talking based, another that is a mix between both and then this one I'm hoping to be very descriptive and less talking. They should be the only ones I play between for awhile so I'm sorry if you're still waiting for the other chapters for the other stories. I'll try and update them all regularly though! This one will mostly be the one main pairing with a few hints for others. If you guys like it a lot, I'll branch out into the others within the same plot line! So be sure to review, comment, favourite, follow, whatever!

**Chapter 1:**

The air was cold and brisk. The kind that made your skin break out into little wrinkled bumps across your body and send shivers down your spine. This is what it was like taking showers in the early morning, a time of day Atemu hated to be showering at.

As the water began to warm up and relax his muscles, he thought about the day previous to today. He had won the duel monsters world tournament and had been crowned King of Games. It was a long tournament and after getting into Domino at 2am in the morning, Atemu had no energy to shower or cleanup for today until he at least got a few hours' sleep.

He had only moved to Domino, Japan recently having emigrated from Cairo, Egypt. At this point Atemu was already famous, having come up quickly in dueling tournaments and beating top level duelists all around the world. Duel Monsters was currently the most popular card game in the world, people betting millions and forking out just as much for the game. Any top duelist became a celebrity as popular and well known as most movie stars. Everyone already knew who Atemu was before he knew them, and it made it difficult sometimes.

The water was relaxing and refreshing; Atemu wished nothing more than to stay in it forever. He knew he couldn't though, today was his first day at Domino University. His parents weren't convinced that dueling would keep him sustained forever and demanded he get a higher education. His parents wanted him to stay in Egypt but Atemu didn't want to be held under their shadow any longer. He was tired of having his life picked out for him and even worse, his father picking it out for him. He never respected the man and decided to go to a school offering the same program far away. He decided to pick the city that duel disk, a contraption used for Duel Monsters was invented, Domino, Japan.

He dried himself off quickly realizing the more he day dreamed the further behind he got. He was not good at early rising especially after coming in late from a tournament just several hours prior and was already way behind. He put his tight form fitting pants on and started to attach his wristbands and goth collar. He adored this form of fashion but could never get away with it in Egypt. He downed his cup of coffee quickly, despite it being extremely hot and shoved a piece of toast in his mouth. Luckily he was a block away from the school and he should still make it before the first class was over.

He looked over at his sleeping roommate, still passed out cold on the couch. I guess the man stayed up all night partying again and ended up not being able to make to his bed. He frowned, he knew his roommate had class that same morning and was going to wake him up when he saw the time. He was way later then he can afford to pause for.

Atemu darted out of his apartment and decided to take the stairs figuring he could run faster than the elevator. He was annoyed with himself for being late for his first day. He got halfway down the stairs noticing a few other people looking at him funny. When he finally looked down though he was at the bottom of the stairs already and proceeded to slam his fist into the wall in frustration. Back up the stairs he went to put his shirt on.

Atemu got to the school with twenty minutes of class to spare, rounding the corner in the main lobby to his first floor class. He had already found his classroom a week prior and before leaving on his tournament to insure he'd be prepared for today. The lights were off and he could hear the instructor talking loudly through the walls even. He tried to open the door as quietly as he could but it almost felt like it was rigged to make the loudest possible creaking noise you ever could hear. As he entered the classroom all eyes were trained on him. It wasn't a feeling he was necessarily opposed too, given his newly acquired fame, but he definitely didn't want to draw attention to himself the first day.

"Here we have our celebrity of the class everyone, who seems to think time isn't a factor for him" The older instructor announced pointing to Atemu as he entered the classroom recognizing who he was instantly. A lot of murmuring from the class could be heard including some gasps and laughs at the predicament. Atemu rubbed his hair in frustration trying to hide the blush on his face from being embarrassed. Luckily the room was still dark and no one could really make out his face.

"Sorry…" Atemu managed to say before making his way up the stairs and picking a seat open that was in the middle of the lecture hall. He would normally pick the back but as the back was often labelled the "bad kids spot" of the classroom, he figured he didn't need any more bad air around himself. As soon as he sat down the lights came on and the projector was turned off. Atemu was frustrated he had missed the entire lecture.

"So that's a brief overview of what we'll be learning in class. Egypt is a fascinating culture and we will have a lot to cover for the semester so make sure that you're all here on time and doing the daily reading I assign beginning of class each day" The instructor announced, his voice stern and eyes trained on Atemu while he said it. Atemu frowned; it was only one day he missed, why was he being targeted already?

Atemu looked around the room hoping to catch someone who had written down the required work to read but noticed only bored and yawning faces for the most part. He would mentally be raging at the fact no one paid much attention if he hadn't been late himself. His eyes caught a man a few people across from him circling stuff in his binder and looked like he was writing some stuff down. He leaned forward a bit as the instructor continued to lecture the class on the importance of the course for the entire program though Atemu wasn't paying much attention at this point. He was focused on the man writing trying to see if he could see what he was writing.

"Class dismissed!" The instructor said loudly snapping Atemu's attention back to the front of the class. He looked at the clock then to everyone starting to stand up and exit the lecture hall. He scanned the crowd for the man he saw earlier jotting things down and caught a glimpse of him walking out the left side door, opposite to where he entered from. He stood up nearly tripping over his seat and ran towards that exit. Before he could leave to catch up with the man, his instructor called to him.

"Oh and Atemu, despite being from Egypt I expect you here on time from now on. You never know what you'll learn about your how heritage" He said without looking at Atemu. Atemu narrowed his eyes, feeling the jab at him coming from the instructor was completely unnecessary. He would've snapped at the man if he didn't seriously want to find the student who was writing stuff down and get caught up. He whipped around and hurried out of the exit.

He ran down a few halls scanning them for any sign of his fellow classmate. He was about to give up by the fifth hallway he ran down before he saw him sitting on a bench at the far end of the hallway that was connected to the main University courtyard. He saw that the student was already unpacking his bag and pulling out some form of counter from it.

Now that Atemu caught a glimpse of the man, he couldn't help but draw similarities between them in appearance. The man had similar spikey try coloured hair and was about the same build as him only shorter by about a foot. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt and grey vest over top of it with black tight pants. He smiled sensing the man was probably a fan, given their similar appearances. He figured it'd be easy enough to get the notes from a fan and pretty much predicted the reaction in his head. He smirked, knowing it'd probably only take a few sentences and he'd get the notes easily from the man. His classmate grabbed a bottle of water from his bag and began drinking it as Atemu walked up.

"Hey!" Atemu greeted, standing a few feet in front of his classmate. His classmate looked up to see who it was and nearly spit out his drink in shock.

"Y-You're…!" His classmate started a nervous tone proceeding from his lips making Atemu smile.

"Sorry about interrupting," Atemu smiled holding out a hand to his classmate, "My name is Atemu Sennen and you are?"

"duel king…" The man wandered off in thought almost like he was day dreaming.

"That's an odd name" Atemu grinned not retracting his hand and continued to wait patiently for the other classmate to acknowledge it. The man seemed quite nervous though it's nothing new for Atemu. Given his status now he knew most people knew him and saw him on T.V. during the matches and would react this way. Just as he predicted earlier.

"Ah…oh…sorry! My name is Yugi, Yugi Motou" the classmate quickly said shaking Atemu's hand, "It's really an honor…"

"Yugi eh? Nice name" Atemu smiled at Yugi as Yugi looked away and seemed embarrassed, "Guess we're in the same class!"

"Really?" Yugi seemed shocked by this making Atemu relieved that at least one person didn't see his late intrusion into the class. He took a seat beside Yugi and leaned back his tan skin next to the pale skin of Yugi's made for a very interesting contrast.

"Yea, I was a little late today" Atemu scratched his head before leaning forward and resting his arms on his legs. "I kind of missed the first lecture"

"You were dueling in Tokyo yesterday!" Yugi exclaimed nearly startling Atemu, "I mean…sorry, I was watching your match before class today."

"I figured you for a fan" Atemu grinned as Yugi looked down at his shoes looking slightly upset. Atemu raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding why Yugi looked upset all of sudden. He seemed like a soft spoken individual that surely he hadn't offended him yet. Was he reading the man all wrong already? No, Atemu was an expert at reading people and knew this was just a small detour around the obvious personality that was Yugi.

"I've always dressed like this…" Yugi said puffing his cheeks out a bit making it look like he was pouting almost. Atemu let out a laugh making Yugi look at him with an upset expression.

"Sorry I don't mean to laugh…no I wasn't commenting on your appearance," Atemu lied though he originally took him for a fan because of his appearance he realized that seemed to upset him and quickly thought up a new reason on the spot, "You were startled when you saw me, so I figured you've at least heard of me"

"Oh…!" Yugi smiled at him, "Yea! I am. It's really awesome how you rose up from beginner to becoming the duel king so quickly…"

Atemu dealt with fans all the time saying how they inspired him and how much they loved him and although he'd never call them a liar, it never felt sincere. It was like he was the new poster boy for the nobody becoming somebody and he felt a lot of his fan interactions were fake. They automatically assumed it without doing any sort of questions about him and it irritated him. He wasn't a nobody ever and he was tired of being that image for people. However, Yugi specifically mentioned his beginner status not his nobody status which made it refreshing for Atemu to hear. Though unique it wasn't completely out in left field from the reaction Atemu predicted.

"It took a lot of practice," Atemu began feeling comfortable to share a bit since Yugi didn't label him a nobody right away, "and a lot of luck."

"No way…" Yugi shook his head causing Atemu to be shocked at his response. "If you don't mind me saying that…I mean, I don't think it's luck at all…you just seem so good at reading people and your opponents. You're always one step ahead which is a talent and strategy in itself. I wouldn't call talent like that luck,"

Yugi continued to trail off describing Atemu's dueling skills but Atemu had already stopped listening at that point. He was focused on Yugi talking and saw just how happy talking about Atemu's duels made him. Why couldn't more of his fans be like this? It'd at least make more sense than how they usually deal with him.

Atemu shook his head to refocus just in time for Yugi to look at him expectantly.

"Well thanks Yugi, it's nice to hear that! …generally all you read in the paper's is how much luck I must have" Atemu chuckled, "I was wondering if you had what we needed to read by next Monday written down and what we covered today?"

"Oh! Yea I do" Yugi shuffled through his bag for a bit before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Atemu, "I wrote it down in my calendar book so you can have this"

"Thanks Yugi!" Atemu said taking the piece of paper and relaxing. A big wave of relief ran through Atemu's body like a train given he's been tense since he got out of his shower. Yugi couldn't begin to imagine how much stress this took off him for the day and how much he owed him one. Atemu stood up nodding to his classmate and was about to walk off before he stopped. Yugi seemed like such a fan and probably wasn't the type to meet celebrities that often. Thanks to Yugi also, Atemu was able to catch up on his homework and be ready for the next class. Atemu didn't want to owe someone a favour so early on in his University studies, so figured it might be best to pay Yugi back right away. He turned back to face Yugi with a determined look on his face to see that Yugi's face was looking a bit sad. Is he upset I was going to leave already?

"Anymore classes you have today?" Atemu asked Yugi as Yugi shook his head, "Good! Let's go out for coffee my treat"

"What?" Yugi asked nervously, "You don't have to repay me for the notes…you're a c-..classmate so I would've helped anyway…"

"You're going to pass up coffee with the king of games?" Atemu questioning boasting a bit to see if that'd work. Yugi stood up quickly putting his lunch and drink back in his bag. "That's more like it!"

Atemu nodded at Yugi before walking with him through the hallway. Yugi trailed a couple steps behind and remained silent almost as if he was shy. Atemu wasn't sure what kind of individual he was yet but he did pride himself at reading people. If he had to guess, he would take Yugi as a shy soft spoken timid guy who probably didn't interact with people much. No, it's not that he didn't interact, it was more he didn't have many friends.

"Sorry if I seem nervous…" Yugi spoke up softly causing Atemu to side glance at him, "...I don't talk to people much"

Bingo. Atemu shook his head to dismiss Yugi's apology as they continued to walk through the school. They got to the main entrance to the school where a lot of people were gathered. Atemu raised an eyebrow to the rather large group of students not understanding why they were all gathered at the door. They didn't have signs or anything and didn't look like they were handing anything out or organizing anything. When one of the group's eyes looked his way and they squealed loudly it all became clear.

"Atemu-sama!" Screamed one of the girls as a form of signal for the other camping students to rush over to him. He sighed and rubbed his forehead forgetting for a moment he was still a celebrity. The fans swarmed him and he tried his best to be as polite as possible while engaging with them as to not upset any of them. Answering their questions quickly and trying to get through them.

He finally looked behind him to where Yugi was standing and noticed he wasn't there anymore. He frantically looked around for Yugi but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Hey where's Yugi?" he asked the crowd as they all looked at him in a confused manner.

"Who's Yugi?"

"The guy I was just with"

"You were with a guy? When?"

Atemu rubbed his temples in frustration at the crowd not remembering he was just standing with someone. He apologized to the group and took off out the entrance to see if he could spot his classmate. Where on earth did he go? Atemu thought looking around. He needed to pay the favour back and was annoyed that Yugi had wandered off before he could.

**Chapter 1 complete.**

**AN:** _So I wrote this chapter at the same time as Chapter 2 as a sort of introduction portion to the story. After these two chapters the story will progress with back and forth dialogue from Yugi and Atemu as the story is mainly told from their POVs. I'll try to make it obvious who is thinking what but I don't want to do too much "double talking" where things get re-explained yet again from the new individuals POV. I find that's a lot of unnecessary repetition and I'm going to try and make it flow better so wish me luck! And let me know if things get too confusing! _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The buzzing and vibrating of the phone alarm could only be heard for a manner of seconds before it was switched off quickly. It wasn't hard for Yugi to get up in the morning and he was always an early riser. He tended to be the guy who'd never hit snooze on an alarm and just jump out of the bed fresh as a daisy.

He stretched his arms as high as he could as he got up out of bed and got changed right away. His phone vibrated again on the table making the familiar bzzz noise so he wandered over to see who was texting him. It was his best friend Jou and it made him smile.

_Have a good first day Yug! You'll be fine man and if anyone gives ya grief, I'll come smack 'em one! – Jounouchi _

He and Jou had been friends since early High School and practically inseparable. It was an ironic friendship since all of middle school Jou used to pick on and beat Yugi up. Yugi still couldn't believe that they became friends, and it was after Yugi stood up to some bigger bullies at the start of high school too. After that, Jou became protective of his friend wanting to repay him for looking out for him. Yugi cherished the friendship he had with Jou, since friends for Yugi were few and far between.

He looked down at his feet as he put the phone into his pocket of his black pants. He was starting his first day at Domino University today and was extremely nervous. When he realized that his stomach began to feel sick and his head spun. First days were always really hard for him given that it normally meant a new group of bullies would be there to beat him up. He wanted to think University was different, but given the movies and shows he watched it looked like it'd be worse. Initiations, fights, competitions on who is better, he shuddered at these thoughts. He knew he was going to be a target no matter what he did. His smaller stature meant he was a prime target for bigger guys and he graduated high school at sixteen one year quicker than most meant he'd be a target from smart guys too because he was considered gifted.

That's right, Yugi was entering University at seventeen and just at seventeen as his birthday was just last week. He headed downstairs and made some breakfast for himself.

"Good morning" His grandfather said from behind him, smiling when he saw Yugi had made enough for two "You made breakfast again?"

"Yup!" Yugi smiled at his grandfather, "Todays my first day of classes so I want to make sure I have everything in order."

"You'll do great!" His grandfather gleefully said scarfing down the toast quickly, "You have a good first day! Your parents would be proud"

"Thanks grandpa, see ya!" Yugi waved as he headed out quickly after that. He always got teary eyed when his grandfather said things like that. He found it incredibly difficult growing up because his parents were never around. His parents were always away on business and very seldom came home so Yugi was mostly raised by his grandfather. His grandfather owned Kame game shop and there was an apartment behind the store that they lived in. His parents however, never had anything there and when they came home they stayed in a hotel nearby anyway. They'd say a few words and then take off. Yugi knew his grandfather was being polite but doubt very much his parents actually cared.

Yugi got to the University nice and early and picked a seat in the class about the middle row. He found if he sat up front he was a target and if he sat at back he was a target so the middle row he often could blend in just enough that no one would notice him. All Yugi wanted was to go unnoticed through University to become an archeologist. It was his dream and he'd rather not spend his years stuffed in a locker to achieve it.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket a few times so he lifted it up to look at it.

_Can't wait to hear about your first day – Anzu_

_Just keep your head down! No one will notice you and you'll breeze through these next four years – Ryou_

Yugi smiled at the texts he got from his still high school friends. He did miss them deep down and it sucked he graduated without them. He found it hard not having them around but was thankful for today's technology letting him still stay in contact with them. Yugi had very few friends, but the ones he did were extremely precious to him.

He decided to do a google search on his phone for updates on the latest Duel Monsters tournament that ended yesterday. Yugi loved games and was a big fan of Duel Monsters. He had watched all the tournaments at present and there was one duelist he admired above all else, Atemu Sennen. Yugi nearly freaked out and did a bit of a happy dance when he saw that Atemu had won his last duel.

"He's the world champion now!" Yugi said gleefully out loud happy that no one was in the classroom yet to hear him.

Yugi watched Atemu duel since he started out in beginners' tournaments in Egypt. He found that Atemu was a prodigy in the game, having been extremely underestimated from the beginning yet beating every opponent he faced. He always seemed to be several steps ahead of any player he faced and was able to shift his strategies accordingly to beat them. Even when it looked like he wasn't going to win, Atemu laid out clever strategies to trap his opponents before crushing them. He played with such skill that no one seemed to match him or even come close. If there was one person in the world Yugi looked up too, it was Atemu Sennen.

Yugi glanced up from his phone to see the class starting to fill up now, seeing that it was finally 8am. He did one final yawn to get his brain alert and pulled out his binder to get ready to take notes. The instructor came in shortly after and dimmed the lights immediately turning on the projector in the process. Yugi was happy to see that Arthur Hopkins was still teaching the Egyptian history course. Arthur was a longtime friend of his grandfather's and he knew Arthur very well. Arthur's granddaughter was also a gifted student like him and had already entered college as well but she was only thirteen.

Yugi intently listened to the lecture while jotting down notes the entire time. He made sure to both write down and record in his calendar book on his phone the homework and reading assignments. He wanted to make absolutely sure he was prepared for this course knowing Professor Hopkins was known for throwing a lot of curve ball lessons/tests into his course. The class was four hours long and filled with a lot of introductions to the course content as well as general school policies and procedures.

After class Yugi decided to head towards the University courtyard, finding not many people sat down those hallways from the tours he went on weeks prior. He could just head home for the day given he had no more classes and eat his lunch there, but his stomach was growling and didn't think he'd make it home in time before he passed out.

Yugi just started unpacking his lunch and drinking some water when his eyes went wide at who approached him.

"Hey!" came the deep voice of the man standing before him almost causing Yugi to spit out his drink.

"Y-You're…!" Yugi couldn't believe it. Was he dreaming? Was this really happening? That spikey hair, that deep and calculating voice, that tanned skin, it was him! Yugi's idol standing before him casually like he was some sort of normal person.

"Sorry about interrupting," Atemu smiled holding out a hand to Yugi, "My name is Atemu Sennen and you are?"

"duel king…" Yugi started to space out thinking about all the matches he had watched Atemu do and all the times he just screamed from his television or computer when Atemu won. Atemu was always the underdog, the one everyone thought wouldn't make it through and yet he proved them wrong time and time again. Yugi not only admired and looked up to him, but saw his own struggles in life being acted out in Atemu's dueling career. Atemu was from Egypt and just finished up a tournament in Tokyo so why was he at Domino University? And more importantly, why was he standing before him?

"That's an odd name" Atemu grinned at Yugi making Yugi feel extremely embarrassed for spacing out like that. Yugi snapped back to reality and saw the hand being held out before him. He didn't know what to say. There were a million sentences racing through Yugi's mind; you're amazing, I love watching you duel, I can't believe you're here and they all seemed to blend into each other turning his mind to mush.

"Ah…oh…sorry! My name is Yugi, Yugi Motou" Yugi said shaking Atemu's hand quickly as to not make the duel king wait much longer, "It's really an honor…"

Yugi mentally kicked himself for just blurting out how much of an honor it was. Out of all the things he could say, he had to say something so embarrassing like that?

"Yugi eh? Nice name" Atemu smiled at Yugi and Yugi felt his cheeks turn red so tried to look away quickly before Atemu noticed, "Guess we're in the same class!"

"Really?" Yugi couldn't believe Atemu was taking the same class as him. A million questions started racing through his mind about why he was here in Domino and why he was studying Egyptian history when he was from Egypt. He couldn't seem to formulate the words properly though and didn't want to embarrass himself further.

"Yea, I was a little late today" Atemu scratched his head before leaning forward and resting his arms on his legs beside him making Yugi smile. "I kind of missed the first lecture"

"You were dueling in Tokyo yesterday!" Yugi exclaimed nearly startling Atemu with his extreme excitement, "I mean…sorry, I was watching your match last night."

Get a hold of yourself, Yugi thought trying to straighten out all the feelings welling up inside him making it hard for him to coherently piece together sentences properly. What would you say if the person you had admired and looked up too for the last two years suddenly just showed up in front of you?

"I figured you for a fan" Atemu grinned at him. Yugi frowned looking down at his feet mildly annoyed at Atemu's sudden comment. Was it that obvious? Well they did style their hair similarly so maybe Atemu was thinking he was copying him? But he wasn't! Yugi had started styling his hair and wore things like this years ago and the last thing he wanted was his idol thinking he was copying him or something.

"I've always dressed like this…" Yugi started to pout really feeling bad for having worn what he did today. There was no way of him knowing he'd run into Atemu ever in his life but he also knew Atemu had his look and probably had a million other fans who copied him he'd automatically think Yugi was doing the same. Yugi wished he checked Atemu's internet pages prior to today at the very least, maybe catching a glimpse or a hint the duel king would be attending school here.

"Sorry I don't mean to laugh…no I wasn't commenting on your appearance," Atemu said as Yugi looked up to him he could see that sincere expression he always gave his opponents when he congratulated them for doing so well against him. Yugi knew he had to have been telling the truth because he gave that look to so many opponents by this point, Yugi could easily recognize it. "You were startled when you saw me, so I figured you've at least heard of me"

"Oh…!" Yugi couldn't help but smile but inside felt a little dumb for assuming Atemu meant his appearance and not his reaction, "Yea! I am. It's really awesome how you rose up from beginner to becoming the duel king so quickly…"

Yugi couldn't believe his first day of class would be so exciting. He was scared and dreading this day but now that he actually got to see Atemu in person, he couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Not only that but he'd at least get to see the duel king regularly because they shared a class together. Yugi didn't think there was any chance he'd pay attention to him for long given he was probably extremely busy and had his own friends, but he was happy for this conversation no matter how brief it ended up being.

"It took a lot of practice," Atemu seemed to continue the conversation only making Yugi that much more excited "and a lot of luck."

"No way…" Yugi couldn't believe how quick Atemu dismissed his own skill set and couldn't help his continuous watching taught him something about the man, "If you don't mind me saying that…I mean, I don't think it's luck at all…you just seem so good at reading people and your opponents. You're always one step ahead which is a talent and strategy in itself. I wouldn't call talent like that luck,"

Yugi saw that Atemu was still listening and couldn't help but continue hoping he didn't scare off the man with his ramblings. He really felt that maybe Atemu was like him and doubted himself sometimes that if he could help him feel even a bit better it'd all be worth it.

"You're always so confident but I think that's because you are so far ahead of everyone else. You're reading them before they even make a move, just by their body language and tone. If I didn't watch so many of your matches already and realize it was strategy, I swear you were a mind reader! That kind of talent doesn't come around often, especially in duel monsters games…I've watched hundreds and your skill, well it's special and you should be proud of yourself!"

Yugi looked at Atemu hoping in his head he didn't go too far and offend him.

"Well thanks Yugi, it's nice to hear that! …generally all you read in the paper's is how much luck I must have" Atemu chuckled, making Yugi happy he didn't think Yugi went too far, "I was wondering if you had what we needed to read by next Monday written down and what we covered today?"

"Oh! Yea I do" Yugi shuffled through his bag for a bit before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Atemu, "I wrote it down in my calendar book so you can have this"

"Thanks Yugi!" Atemu said as Yugi nodded. Yugi thought that maybe he should go over the notes with Atemu or something just to make sure he understood. The last thing he wanted was to give his idol notes and have him not be able to understand it. Just when Yugi was about to respond he noticed Atemu was already getting up to leave. Yugi couldn't help but feel a little sad as he was really hoping he'd stay a bit longer. Who was Yugi kidding though, Atemu was an idol now and had better things to do then talk to a nerd like him. He looked up at Atemu seeing him turn around, figuring he was just going to ask for directions or something.

"Anymore classes you have today?" Atemu asked Yugi as Yugi shook his head wondering where Atemu was going with this, "Good! Let's go out for coffee my treat"

"What?" Yugi couldn't believe Atemu wanted to continue the conversation or at least hang out with him a little longer. Deep down though he couldn't help but feel it was only because of him lending Atemu the notes so he really didn't want him to feel like he owed him anything, "You don't have to repay me for the notes…you're a c-..classmate so I would've helped anyway…"

"You're going to pass up coffee with the king of games?"

If Atemu wasn't staring at Yugi, Yugi probably would've smacked his head in stupidity. Of course he wanted to spend more time with Atemu, and he should've just come right out and say it. That's it, Yugi wasn't going to talk again until he properly thought things through or he'd sound even worse. Yugi stood up and made sure his bag was all zipped up and was ready to follow Atemu.

"That's more like it!"

Yugi didn't want to walk up next to Atemu in fear that he'd accidently hit him with his bag or something. He wanted to stop acting like a nervous child and at least not embarrass himself any further. He realized during this thought process though some time went by and Atemu didn't say anything either. This time instead of trying to think up a million things at once, Yugi was just going to be honest with him.

"Sorry if I seem nervous…" Yugi spoke up making sure not to have too much tone in his voice, "...I don't talk to people much"

Yugi was happy to see Atemu shake his head in dismissal of the apology. It really was a dream come true for Yugi at this point. He was walking with his idol and talking to him like they were casual friends and it felt amazing. Atemu he knew was three years older than him, having looked into his profile a bit before watching his first match two years ago. He really didn't know much about Atemu's personal life though and nor did he feel that was any of his or any fan's business. It wasn't posted online and even if it was, Yugi wouldn't read it. He admired Atemu for how he dueled and strategized and didn't need to know anything personal given he never had met him before. Meeting him now he was shocked to see how calm he was towards him. Atemu was always a bit sterner against his opponents that it was hard for him to picture this side of him. Regardless of anything though, Yugi would cherish this day.

"Atemu-sama!" Screamed a girl in a group just ahead of them. Yugi was spaced out for so long he didn't realize there was a group of people right in their path. They seemed to rush over to them quickly, making Yugi feel a little overwhelmed. Before he knew it Atemu was surrounded by a large group of students and Yugi couldn't really get close to him.

Yugi noticed Atemu was greeting them and talking with them and felt it'd be rude if he said anything. As they crowded in further, the further he was pushed away. Yugi shook his head, Atemu didn't owe him anything for the notes and although thankful for the coffee offer he also had a slap of reality from this sudden occurrence. Atemu was a celebrity and well-loved that he would probably much rather talk with his fans. Yugi was a fan too but he couldn't be selfish and maybe next week when class was on it'd give him a chance to come up with a nicer way of saying how much Yugi respected him. It didn't seem like Atemu really realized Yugi was there anymore so Yugi felt it was a great time to slip away.

Yugi proceeded out the main entrance of the school and towards his grandfather's shop. It was only one o'clock so maybe if he hurried he could get there in time to relieve his grandfather so he could have lunch. Just then he felt a pain in his stomach and a rumbling. He got so caught up with Atemu he completely forgot to eat his lunch!

He walked over and sat under a tree in the shade at the edge of school property and pulled out his sandwich from his bag. He quickly devoured the sandwich not worried about how he looked while doing it and felt a sense of relief wash over his body. He decided to send Jou a text and got excited about his day all over again. Jou was a big fan of duel monsters too and he was not going to believe this!

_You'll never guess who's in my class Jou…Atemu! Our idol is my classmate! – Yugi_

_NO FRIGGEN WAY! I'm calling your bluff – Jou_

_I'm serious Jou, he's in my class and he talked to me! He needed my notes because he was late to class because of his tournament yesterday but still! I seriously can't believe it myself – Yugi_

_I just saw his duel! He won and you're telling me you met him?! That's incredible Yug! I'm so coming over after school and we need to continue this – Jou_

_Sure thing! I'll see you then, man I still can't believe it…I've never been so happy in my life! I met Atemu! – Yugi_

"Trust me, the excitement goes downhill from here"

Yugi nearly leapt out of his skin as he whirled around to see Atemu leaning against the tree behind him peering over his shoulder. Yugi quickly hid his phone and felt his cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

"A-Atemu!" Yugi said, startled by the duel king's presence. Yugi couldn't believe Atemu followed him.

"You left, I thought we had a coffee date?" Atemu seemed to frown as he asked the question, maneuvering so he was now in front of Yugi.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to leave you…there were just so many people and you looked busy so I-" Yugi fidgeted with his shirt feeling extremely bad for leaving Atemu.

"Let's go" Atemu said holding out a hand for Yugi to follow him. Yugi blinked looking up at Atemu and before packing his bag yet again and standing up with him. "Know of any good coffee places? I'm still a little new here"

"There's one by my grandfather's game shop really close to here…" Yugi thought out loud; trying to think if there were any other coffee shops nearby.

"Grandfathers game shop?" Atemu questioned as he followed Yugi who was still thinking as he instinctively started to lead Atemu there. Yugi shook his head before focusing on Atemu again.

"Oh! Yea…my grandfather owns a game shop. I live with him behind it, he sells duel monsters cards too!" Yugi said in an excited tone. He was hoping that'd intrigue Atemu enough to visit sometime, as his grandfather was probably just as if not more of a fan as Yugi. Yugi started to feel embarrassed again when he thought of Atemu in his house.

"Sounds like my kind of shop," Atemu grinned at Yugi as they continued to walk down the street, "Your parents not around?"

"They're always away on business, so grandpa raised me" Yugi shook his head feeling a bit of sting in his heart. He hated talking about his parents because it always made him upset and was hoping that Atemu wouldn't pry further.

Yugi couldn't have any more of a clearer "Don't you continue asking about them" expression on his face currently that Atemu was easily able to read. He was starting to find Yugi a pretty open and shut book by this point. Shy, timid, not many friends guy who idolized duelists and has parent issues. The feelings before he got from Yugi were starting to fade from his memory and he was beginning to feel a little bored. It wasn't that he hated Yugi or anything, it was more he was used to his type and knew he didn't get along with them. Though being polite now, there was a whole other side to Atemu he figured wouldn't be a good match around someone like Yugi. Atemu knew his type and knew it'd probably be best if this was the last conversation they had.

"How much further?" Atemu tried to ask without sounding too bored. Yugi looked up to him before pointing at a café now a few feet away from them. Wow he wasn't kidding when he said it was close.

They walked into the café and it was the usual kind you see pretty much in any town. Nothing special about the place and had pretty standard food. Atemu wasn't surprised Yugi took him somewhere pretty generic given he was pretty sure he had the man figured out at this point. He made his way up to the counter and looked down at the shorter man.

"What do you want?" Atemu asked realizing he was about to order and didn't even know what Yugi drank. Probably some herbal tea or something.

"Black coffee is fine." Yugi said, "I typically don't like anything in my coffee"

Atemu raised an eyebrow not expecting that response at all. It was only coffee though so he wasn't going to get his hopes up but still something he didn't expect.

"Black coffee medium and a coffee with four sugar medium" Atemu ordered as the lady behind the counter smiled and busied herself with pouring the coffee. He grabbed the two coffees and made his way over to one of the tables sliding Yugi's to him as Yugi sat down.

Atemu was thankful for Yugi's help and wanted to repay him. He was also happy to see Yugi seemed to be enjoying himself despite Atemu growing bored. Atemu hated the crowds of people who surrounded him all the time, but currently he was starting to feel like he should've got more lost in it. They had been drinking their coffee almost fifteen minutes now and Yugi hadn't said a word yet. Atemu scanned Yugi to see if he could figure out what he'd say next. I'm you're biggest fan, sign my duel monsters card, or something along those lines was his guess. No, not a guess exactly what he'd say.

He was surprised to see Yugi smirking at him and almost looked like he was about to laugh. Atemu raised an eyebrow "What?"

"I just recognize your expression that's all…" Yugi let out the chuckle Atemu expected, "You're trying to figure out what my next moves are or something right?"

"Something like that" Atemu grinned before taking a drink out of his coffee, not expecting that kind of response from Yugi and decided to see if he could lead Yugi into the answer he was expecting, "You must watch me a lot huh?"

"I do watch your matches, ya! I've seen them all…" Yugi smiled as he took a drink of his coffee, Atemu inwardly frowning that it was too easy to lead Yugi into what he expected him to say.

"Big fan eh?" Atemu asked taking another long drink out of his coffee. It burned but he didn't want to dwell on the cup too long so he didn't have to stay that much longer. He knew his next response and at this point, he started to feel like he was playing a duel game against a beginner.

"I wouldn't say that" Yugi shook his head, "I'm sure there are plenty of people out there bigger fans than me…I admire you, sure, and your games are so full of strategy they are the most entertaining of matches. You've got a lot of confidence and you're smarter than people think."

Atemu blinked not expecting that response at all from Yugi and was unable to have a quick reply for him.

"I'm not that kind of person…but watching you makes me feel like I can become that way someday" Yugi smiled finally getting out a decent line to the duel king that reflected more of how he felt, "Giving confidence to those of us who know we're good…but may not be treated quite that way. Don't give up, eventually people will see you the way you want to be seen kind of thing."

"You really think that way?" Atemu asked not quite believing what he was hearing. When he saw Yugi nod it made him even more confused. He decided to dig deeper and figure out why he was so wrong about Yugi's responses, "You seem to relate to how I duel with your own experiences. Do you duel a similar way?"

"I do play the game yes but I can't say I play that way no…" Yugi shook his head before giving Atemu a warm smile, "My connection isn't quite so literal…"

"Then what do you mean?" Atemu asked intrigued on what Yugi's answer would be, a million things racing through his mind on what it could be.

"Growing up I was bullied but at the same time I was away above intelligence levels of everyone in my class… People just saw me as being this weak short person who sucks at sports though" Yugi took another drink from his coffee before continuing, "I know I'm smart but I'm never treated that way. Even my teachers for the longest time doubted my grades or my work. Was sent home a couple times because they thought I was cheating. It was suffocating…people had what I was in their head based on my appearance rather than on my actions. Doesn't matter how many times I prove them otherwise, they keep thinking the same thing. So when I watch you duel, go through the same thing and overcome…so much so that now you're the king of games and everyone treats you that way…well, I can't help but feel someday that will happen for me too"

Atemu had no reply for Yugi, none. He didn't expect that kind of a response or outcome to the question. He mentally cursed himself for being so way off base when normally he read people like a book. He shook his head, took another drink and stared out the window for a few moments.

There was no way he was completely wrong about Yugi, none. Given his actions prior to this everything led up to the typical fan. Atemu started to reflect further. It didn't lead up that way though. Yugi had made a couple comments when they first met that made him start to think he was different that he should've known his reply wasn't going to be so easily predicted. How could he let such a hint slip by him when it wasn't like Yugi knew or expected for Atemu to be reading him. Or maybe he did?

"Thanks for sitting with me and listening to me…" Yugi stood up from the table smiling at Atemu. Atemu's attention snapped out of his current thoughts and looked at Yugi not understanding why he was standing. "I should get going though. My grandpa just sent me a text and needs some help. I really feel terrible for bailing, and it's been incredible just to sit with you."

No Atemu wasn't ready for Yugi to leave yet, he still had more questions and wanted to know more about him. Atemu stood up as well trying to formulate how he was going to object before Yugi held out a hand in front of him.

"It was great meeting you in person Atemu…hope I didn't bore you or take up too much of your time today…means a lot to me" Yugi smiled a big smile making Atemu feel like he blushed a bit. Despite still feeling Yugi was boring, he did have a smile that he couldn't help but like to see.

"Let's do this again tomorrow." Atemu stated suddenly before grabbing Yugi's hand instead of shaking it. Yugi's eyes went wide not quite sure what to make of Atemu's reaction.

"R-Really…?" Yugi asked sheepishly, "You want to hang out again?"

"Yes." Atemu firmly stated squeezing Yugi's hand a bit when he said that.

"S-sure then…! My classes are over early but I have to look after the shop until six though…" Yugi pondered not sure how late Atemu would be willing to meet him at "You can come by the shop? I mean I'll be working but I can still chat…"

Atemu shook his head before releasing the other's hand. "Six is fine. Let's go out to dinner and talk more. I'll meet you at the game shop"

Yugi's face went red as Atemu's eyebrow raised unsure of why Yugi was blushing.

In Yugi's mind or in anyone's mind that isn't Atemu's, the way he stated it made it sound like he was asking Yugi out. Yugi shook his head and that thought away though figuring it must just be wrongful wording on Atemu's part.

"Sure…" Yugi nodded as Atemu smiled. "See you then"

Yugi nodded before waving goodbye and exiting the café shop leaving Atemu standing there a little shocked by his own hastiness to see Yugi again.

Atemu felt it was a little rude he didn't even finish his drink though. Atemu peered down and noticed Yugi had finished his coffee despite Atemu not even half way through his. Atemu couldn't help but feel a little impressed that Yugi drank such a hot substance so quickly and looked up at where Yugi exited the café.

Tomorrow was going to be intriguing, what else was he going to get wrong about him? The feeling of discovering more secrets about Yugi that Atemu couldn't even predict was exhilarating. Atemu had never met a fan of his quite like this before and was looking forward to their outing tomorrow. He was sure by the end of the second meeting with Yugi, he'd have Yugi figured out. It's what Atemu was great at and there wasn't a person alive he couldn't figure out.

**Chapter 2 end. **

**AN: **So this will be the only chapter of double talking. I wanted to show just the contrast of how Atemu perceived the scenario and how Yugi did. After this though I'm going to try and go back and forth a little more smoothly without too much repetition. I got this story idea when I was listening to a talking dead episode that happens after a new episode of The Walking Dead on AMC starts. It made me think about how we perceive celebrities and how we react when we finally meet them. Also how they perceive the rest of the world. Very AU but I'm going to try and include the rest of the cast in some way. The story is mostly centered around Yugi and Atemu though.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Yugi walked up to the mirror to investigate his outfit before inwardly frowning and shaking his head. Today he was going to have dinner with Atemu Sennen, duelist champion of the world and he couldn't decide on what to wear. His grandpa seemed more excited than him though to hear the duel king was coming by and gave into Yugi's insisting of wanting some time before he arrived to get ready.

The last thing Yugi wanted was to look too much like Atemu like the first day they met. Atemu assured him he didn't mean how he looked but at the same time Yugi didn't want on lookers to judge him the wrong way either. Was there going to be people watching them? Yugi began to fidget nervously as he ran back over to his closet to try something else on.

Yugi heard the door chimes and a holler from his grandpa just as he changed into the next outfit and started to panic. Atemu was already here and he still hadn't decided what he was wearing yet. He looked in the mirror and smiled though. There's no way Atemu would be wearing this outfit but Yugi couldn't help but feel nervous all over again and back to the closet he went.

* * *

Atemu looked around the game shop his eyes focused on the duel monsters cards on display. He could tell the old man behind the counter hadn't stopped staring at him but as the old man didn't carry on any further conversation then greeting him when he arrived, he began to feel awkward and decided to look around the shop instead. He glanced down at the silver watch on his wrist before looking back over duel monster cards.

What was taking Yugi so long? It was now after six and Atemu began to get irritated they'd miss their reservation time. Atemu didn't know many places around but his roommate who lived locally his whole life had a suggestion for him. As Atemu asked Yugi to come he didn't want to risk the places nearby being full as Domino was an extremely large populated city in Japan. He sighed before walking up to the older man behind the counter not being able to take his awkward gawking any longer.

"Is Yugi normally this late?" Atemu raised an eyebrow at the old man as he seemed to light up at the conversation.

"H-he should be…down soon…A-Atemu…sama" The old man said with a nervous tone to his voice.

"Atemu is fine." Atemu corrected trying to get him to relax as the last thing Atemu needed was to be responsible for the man having a heart attack. "Nice shop you have here,"

"T-Thank you!" the old man nodded rapidly, "We are big supporters of duel monsters and selling duel monsters merchandise"

"I see that" Atemu smirked seeing that talking about the shop seemed to make the old man forget who he was talking too, "Some pretty rare cards here too"

"I keep the rarest card in my safe…sadly a year ago it got ripped, but it still holds a lot of sentimental value for me" The old man smiled and now Atemu was curious on what the card was.

"Oh? What card is that?" Atemu questioned leaning on the display case that separated him from the older man.

"The blue eyes white dragon…" The old man sighed as Atemu's eyes went wide and he pushed back off the display case.

"Blue eyes?! I thought Seto Kaiba creator of the duel disk technology was the only one who had those cards…" Atemu couldn't believe what he was hearing and almost accused him of lying if the old man didn't bring out the card to show Atemu. There it was, ripped and taped back up but the blue eyes white dragon card itself.

"He was…he used to go to high school with my grandson and I guess found out that I had the fourth card," The old man said looking to the side with a sad expression, "He was rude and ignorant…didn't seem to understand what dueling was all about…so I thought I'd teach him a lesson and I dueled him. I lost however…and he ripped up the card so it could never be used against him"

Atemu had recently beat Seto Kaiba in a duel and didn't get that vibe from him at all. Sure Seto was arrogant and seemed to think he knew everything about dueling but he definitely didn't come off as rude or ignorant during their duel. Was the old man just mistaking his personality or did Seto change somehow?

"…It wasn't until my grandson beat him in a duel did he start to show respect" The old man continued, "…Even came around the shop often to buy his cards from then on out, and offered to pay me for the card he ripped up…He really turned into quite the gentleman since dueling my grandson, my grandson has a way of bringing the best out people."

If Atemu was holding anything in his hand at the time he would've dropped it and could mentally hear it smashing on the ground. He couldn't believe that Yugi, this shy timid kid who said he played but didn't, beat Seto Kaiba. Why wasn't Yugi in tournaments then? Why had he never heard of the kid before yesterday? When Seto mentioned he only ever had been beaten once before he didn't picture it was to a non-tournament player.

"Grandpa!"Came the overly embarrassed and frustrated voice of Yugi, "Don't go telling him things like that…"

"Sorry Yugi, I guess I got caught up in the past" His grandfather laughed, "Or maybe I did it as punishment for making the duel king wait so long."

"I told you I was going to be awhile…" Yugi pouted so that Atemu couldn't see it before shaking his head and focusing on Atemu, "S-Sorry I'm late…"

Atemu was still lost in his head thinking about how Yugi could've possibly beaten Seto when he himself struggled with beating him.

Yugi blinked as he waited for Atemu to respond but it was almost like he was daydreaming. Yugi couldn't help feel a bit of a blush come on as he was now able to focus on what Atemu looked like. Black dress shirt with the first two buttons undone, dark grey leather pants, a silver chain around his neck, leather strap bracelets and two belts with three silver loop earrings in his left ear while only one was on through his cartilage of his right ear at the top. Yugi never noticed during his duels or even yesterday that Atemu had his ears pierced. He shook his head from the thoughts just in time for Atemu to snap back to reality.

"We should probably get going," Atemu glanced down at his watch realizing if they didn't leave now they'd be late, "It was nice meeting you…uh…"

"Sugoroku Mutou" He old man happily nodded, "I hope you have a good supper! Come back any time, I have lots of stories to share!"

Atemu smirked at the old man and nodded before turning back towards Yugi, admiring what he was currently wearing. Yugi and Atemu left the game shop and proceeded to head down the street, Yugi walking behind him by a couple of steps again.

Yugi was wearing a white muscle shirt with a nice ironed black long sleeve dress shirt that was unbuttoned all the way, black jeans and a gold chain around his neck. A much different look from the combination of goth and modern fashion he depicted yesterday. He couldn't help but wonder if his comment yesterday had this much of an effect on even his clothing choice. Unless Yugi went out today and bought it though, it must've been in Yugi's wardrobe regardless.

* * *

Atemu and Yugi arrived at the restaurant and were seated immediately; Yugi's eyes went wide at how classy of a place it was. As soon as Atemu held up the menu to his face looking it over, Yugi couldn't help but blush furiously. The tables were fancy, with ironed black cloths, wine glasses at every table and soft jazz music playing over the speakers. It definitely looked expensive and Yugi had never been here before. He started to fidget with his shirt feeling a bit under dressed given the attire of even the waiters/waitresses being suits and dress suits.

Atemu looked over the menu trying his best to decide quickly what he wanted so he could get back to talking to Yugi. He desperately wanted to continue his conversation from yesterday and to learn more about Yugi's dueling Seto which he still couldn't believe he heard today. He side glanced from his menu to see Yugi fidgeting and not really focused on his own menu. He saw Yugi began to get even more anxious as they noticed people slowing down by the window walking by to look at them and point at Atemu.

This shy, timid, boy who obviously had a hard time with attention was a duelist? And not only that, a good enough duelist to beat Seto? How intriguing. Atemu lowered the menu and grinned at Yugi. The waiter came up and filled their coffee mugs before noticing Yugi didn't look ready to order and walked off.

"You look fine Yugi," Atemu finally said taking a sip out of the coffee that was just poured. Yugi looked over at Atemu in shock, not believing how easy it was for him to compliment him.

"Thanks…If I had known we were coming here, I would've-"

"Like I said, you look fine"

"You…sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well everyone else looks more…well they are wearing suits…"

"I'm not wearing a suit"

"That's true but the people outside they are staring…and I'm almost certain someone took pictures and-"

"Don't worry about what they think"

"But uh…"

"Focus on me. You look great"

Yugi took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking at Atemu who chuckled lightly before turning his attention back to the menu. Yugi couldn't help but admire how composed Atemu looked despite all the attention around them. How easy it was for him to compliment Yugi and still go about his business like it was stating a fact. Yugi shook his head as he started to feel anxious again and decided to focus on his menu.

"Have we decided?" The waiter asked smiling at the two of them.

"Yugi?" Atemu raised an eyebrow towards the smaller man, "You good?"

Atemu blinked as Yugi seemed to look sad for a moment not understanding why he seemed upset at the question. It only dawned on him when he realized Yugi was still looking at the beginning of the menu what Yugi was upset about. Atemu let out a chuckle that caught Yugi by surprise.

"I asked you to come, remember? I'll be paying, so order whatever you want" Atemu shook his head before turning his attention to the waiter, "I'll take the Kobe beef…Yugi?"

"Uh…the yakitori is fine…" Yugi finally answered still shocked at how expensive a lot of the items on the menu was. He'd have to work at his grandfather's store for a whole month to afford dinner like this and was a bit embarrassed that Atemu was paying for it all. Was this a date then? Yugi started to blush and hide his face as the waiter took his menu away at the thought. He shook his head knowing that it was just a supper and nothing more but he couldn't get over the fact that Atemu was paying.

" My roommate recommended this place," Atemu began to break the silence, "Wasn't sure where to go honestly…I haven't done much sightseeing since arriving here a few months ago."

"You've been here a few months already?" Yugi asked taking a sip out of his coffee as Atemu began to add more sugar to his own, "What about your tournament?"

"Tournament was only a week long so I wanted to make sure I had a place secured for school," Atemu said dumping the sugar continents into his cup before swirling it around.

"Ah" Yugi replied before shaking his head, "I'm sorry things are so expensive…"

"It's fine, like I said my roommate recommended it and I asked you to come" Atemu shrugged before taking a sip of coffee, "I'll just have to inform him when he gives me recommendations next time to not make it the price of a duel disk per dish"

Yugi laughed at Atemu's comment causing atemu to chuckle alongside him, smiling at Yugi for catching his joke. Atemu definitely liked it better when Yugi smiled and didn't look so nervous all the time.

"So tell me Yugi," Atemu said lowering his cup to the saucer "was your grandfather telling the truth?"

"Oh…yea…but that was a few years ago" Yugi shook his head and was caught off guard at how intensely Atemu was staring at him.

"You did beat him though in a duel right?" Atemu asked intently as Yugi nodded

"Y-yeah…I did…"

"Wow! Impressive! What strategy did you use?"

"Uh…my own I guess?"

"And cards?"

"uh…a few I guess…"

"A few? Which ones?"

"I don't remember…"

"You don't remember what cards? You must know one or two?"

"I said I don't remember!" Yugi snapped causing Atemu's expression to turn to a shocked look. Atemu narrowed his eyes as Yugi looked away a little annoyed by Yugi's tone. The waiter came back with their food items and they ate in silence. Why was Yugi so upset? He must know that Atemu was going to ask about it, I mean his grandfather practically rubbed it in.

Atemu looked as Yugi picked at his food with an upset expression on his face not understanding what was going on in his head. He asked simple questions and made sure to make them as simple as possible as to not make him anymore anxious then he already was. Why couldn't he seem to figure him out?

"The Yakitori is good…" Yugi finally said looking up at Atemu, "how's yours?"

"Good" Atemu replied still looking at Yugi as Yugi seemed to relax a little. "Your grandfather seems nice"

"He is" Yugi nodded, "I'm really grateful for him. He pays my university fees with what he makes at the game shop and on exhibitions…I owe him a lot"

"Ah" was all Atemu said. They went back to eating their food in silence making Atemu irritated. He wanted to know why Yugi was so unpredictable and just when it's revealed something out of the ordinary, Yugi was back to being an enigma. Atemu spent his career as a duelist reading people and knowing their moves long before they made them. He was good at this and generally the reason why people made him bored so quickly.

"Did you want desert?" Atemu asked as they finished their dinner but Yugi rapidly shook his head, "Again, I'm paying if you're hungry…"

"No I'm fine" Yugi said before looking down. Atemu hated those words as it seemed to be what anyone said when they were not fine. By definition fine meant doing good, alright, everything was hunky dory. However, no one ever used it that way and it was definitely a pet peeve. Yugi was beginning to change from intriguing to irritating very quickly and he felt the same way as yesterday boiling inside him. He wanted to leave.

Atemu paid for supper and asked again if Yugi wanted anything more but his reply again was a shake of the head. Atemu sighed and as they left and pushed past the crowd that formed around the restaurant, Atemu noticed Yugi was walking quicker back to his house. Atemu ignored his fans, apologizing for his rudeness and ran up to catch up to Yugi but Yugi wouldn't look at him. Atemu had it.

Atemu roughly grabbed Yugi's arm and pulled him backwards so that he was facing him, a shocked expression on Yugi's face.

"A simple thank you would've been nice" Atemu narrowed his eyes at Yugi who looked down at his feet.

"Thank you…"Yugi stated not looking at Atemu making Atemu even more frustrated.

"Look at me" Atemu growled as Yugi slowly looked up and nearly jumped back at how intense Atemu was being again. "I didn't pay for a 10,000 yen supper for you to just ignore me and walk away"

"Sorry you paid so much" Yugi replied making Atemu rub the bridge of his nose in frustration as Yugi clearly missed the point.

"I should head back now…early classes…" Yugi said before bowing to Atemu catching him off guard, "Thank you for dinner and spending time with me. It's always an honor"

Atemu blinked not sure what to say as Yugi turned around and started to walk off. Did he just…oh that was it.

As Yugi rounded the corner, so did Atemu and he followed Yugi back home. Before Yugi could get to his house, Atemu sped up and got in front of Yugi realizing he had been texting. Yugi didn't look up thinking it was clear and not noticing Atemu and walked right into the taller man.

Yugi fell to the ground his phone sliding a few feet away while Atemu simply took a step back. As Yugi looked up at Atemu he started to panic to find his phone and get up. Atemu grabbed his phone and stared at Yugi still on the ground.

"You get this back when you answer why you've been avoiding me" Atemu glared.

"I don't want to be rude…especially…especially not to you…" Yugi stood up not looking at Atemu and had his hand out, "Could you give that back?"

"What did I just say?" Atemu questioned holding the phone out of Yugi's reach and what happened next shocked him more than anything he learned about Yugi today.

Atemu's eyes opened slightly to see Yugi on top of him feeling a sting in the back of his head. Did Yugi just? No. He looked around and realized his initial thought was true, Yugi just knocked him to the ground. Yugi scrambled to get his his phone back from Atemu who despite being on the ground and Yugi having the advantage managed to keep it away from him. Yugi seemed to show increased signs of aggravation as Atemu kept the phone away away from him trying to get Yugi off of him. For a shorter guy he definitely had a bit of muscle to him because Atemu was practically pinned besides his one free hand keeping the phone away.

"GIVE IT BACK" Yugi snarled loudly as people walking around them stopped to gawk. Yugi could only see red by this point, Atemu pushing him and not respecting his space. Not only that but he took his phone, the one thing he was able to buy since University started with his own money. Yugi almost reached the phone when the duel king did something he didn't think he'd do. Yugi had watched him on T.V., respected him and couldn't believe what a degrading thing he did next.

Atemu shoved the phone down his own pants and grinned at Yugi. He was tired of playing this silly game and knew it was the one area Yugi wouldn't touch. Yugi slowly crawled backwards looking shocked so that Atemu could sit up just a foot in front of him.

"You shoved it…in your…" Yugi didn't know whether he should burst out laughing or punch him in the face for doing what he did. Emotions in both cases, rare for Yugi to feel.

"Pants. Yes, now answer the question and I'll give it back"

"No…give it back Atemu!"

"What is your problem Yugi?"

"Don't…push this!"

"You ruin supper, avoid me then have the nerve to tackle me over a ridiculous piece of technology and I'm the bad guy? Stop acting like a child and just tell me!"

"HE DIED THAT DAY" Yugi screamed at Atemu, shaking with a fury he had never felt before. Atemu's expression went wide eyed as he saw tears stream down Yugi's face.

"died…who…" and then it hit him.

"Because I got mad…because I wanted revenge for Seto destroying my grandfather's prized possession…" Yugi hiccupped and sniffed but the tears didn't stop, "I dueled him. I knew Seto's brother was in the hospital but still I challenged him…Seto faced me…and when the duel was over and I had won…he…"

"Kaiba's little brother…died the day you dueled?" Atemu questioned and only received a nod from the man followed by gasps of air between his tears. Atemu rubbed his forehead before pulling the phone out of his pants and handing it to Yugi who snatched it quickly before continuing to sob.

"It's my fault…If I wasn't a selfish prick…Seto could've said goodbye…been there…" Yugi swore slamming his fist without the phone into the ground before shaking with anger and sadness. He couldn't stop the tears and knew how embarrassing for Atemu this must be. He still couldn't bring himself to stop, and any time he tried it just came out more and he cried louder. He only could imagine how many people had stopped to look at them but still he couldn't stop.

Yugi's eyes blinked as he felt warm hands wrap around him and pull him in. The scent of cinnamon and spice filled his nostrils as his tears temporarily stopped. Atemu had pulled him into a hug without saying a word and when Yugi tried to pull away only tightened his grip. He felt warm and the smell was comforting to him. All he heard Atemu say was "let it out" before Yugi burst into tears and continued to sob in the comforting, warm cinnamon spice smelling chest that belonged to the idol he respected and adored for so many years.

* * *

**Chapter 3 end.**

**AN:** Yugi is just one big ball of unpredictable isn't he? First off, before anyone jumps the guns and gets mad the little brother is not Mokuba, you'll find out later. The story will involve most of the cast of yugioh in some way, and will try to creatively wrap them around this AU story.

Please read, review, comment, share, follow do all the things!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Yugi continued to chew on his pencil listening to the lecture intently. Ancient history was his favourite class this semester by far and he was happy they were starting with Egypt, a culture he was always fascinated by. Yugi sighed, however, noticing that Atemu wasn't present for the class. Was he missing because of what happened last Tuesday? Yugi felt his stomach turn at the thought.

He had cried on the street for what seemed like an eternity yet Atemu didn't leave him or stop hugging him. When Yugi was finally cried out and ready to go home, Atemu walked him to his door, said goodnight and left. That was the last time he saw the duel king for the rest of the week. He was hoping he would've attended class today so he could at least thank him for everything and apologize again for ruining supper but Atemu wasn't there. Yugi looked down at his phone as it vibrated to see a text come in.

_Did he show up today? – Jounouchi _

_No…I think I messed up – Yugi_

_Don't sweat it, Yug! Everyone has a down day…I'm sure the duel king doesn't care all that much. Ha! Duel king, I still can't believe he's in your class AND you've got to talk to him so much, jealous! – Jounouchi_

_Was in class – Yugi_

_Cheer up man, I'll come over after school and keep you company. – Jounouchi_

Yugi smiled at his friends text before returning his eyes back onto professor Hopkins. He began jotting notes down and writing a second set just in case Atemu needed them again. Last thing he wanted was to be responsible for his absence and his grades slipping.

* * *

Yugi sat down at his usual spot on the bench just before the courtyard. Quiet, peaceful and where he could eat his lunch in peace. Despite living close he always ate his lunch at school, not liking to walk home on an empty stomach due to his class being four hours long. He sighed deeply as he bit into his sandwich. Yugi thought that maybe he should go over to Atemu's place and see if he was alright before he shook his head. This whole time Atemu asked about Yugi, and Yugi rudely didn't ask about him. How could he even check up on him and deliver the notes if he didn't know where he lived? Yugi hated pestering people about their personal lives but he couldn't help but feel he should've asked at least a couple questions.

He'd check online but Atemu seemed to be a very private person. Either that or reporters were terrible at asking the duel king the right questions because nowhere even on his wiki page did it give much details on his life. Yugi normally didn't check into people's personal lives but he really was hoping he'd find anything about it. Sadly nothing at all and he put his phone away. Heck it probably would not even have been updated he was in Japan if he wasn't spotted so much already. Yugi closed his eyes and sighed again. He wanted to give Atemu the notes and at least apologize to him for his behavior just once.

"Still hiding from groups I see"

Yugi's eyes snapped open widely to the sound of a deep yet icy toned voice. He slowly turned his head to see a brunet towering over him with his arms crossed. If Yugi still had a mouth full he would've spat it out.

"S-Seto?!" Yugi exclaimed in shier shock.

"Yugi," The brunet nodded before sitting next to the shorter man on the bench, "You look well"

"Thanks…uh…you too" Yugi nodded before turning his eyes towards his sandwich a familiar anxious feeling building up inside him. "What brings you here?"

"You actually" Seto smirked, leaning back against the cold wall of the school, "And here I half expected you to be upset"

"Me? But, why?" Yugi blinked searching Seto's face for any sign of an answer.

Seto seemed to ignore his question and continued, "Today is Mokuba's birthday. Thought I'd swing by your grandfather's store again and get him some duel monsters merchandise. Your grandfather always has the rare stuff,"

Yugi blinked surprised to hear Mokuba's birthday was already today, he sighed and looked down.

"Look Yugi," Seto turned to Yugi and gave him the familiar cold look he always gave people, "I shop at your grandfather's store out of respect but also because we are friends. You can understand my skepticism when I get a phone call as abruptly as I did, telling me you needed to talk to me"

"But I didn't call you-"

"You know you can ask or tell me anything," Seto continued, "I see you once maybe twice a month"

"I know Seto," Yugi nodded, "And I appreciate you giving my grandfather so much of your business"

"Noah's death, had nothing to do with you" Seto turned away as Yugi's eyes went wide in shock the reality of the scenario sinking in. "I was, for lack of better terms, an asshole and what I did to your grandfather, to you…was unforgivable."

"Atemu…" Yugi said, still in shock and trying to wrap his head around the conversation, "Called you?"

"You showed me what true dueling was and opened my eyes," Seto looked towards Yugi, "Heh, Atemu was shocked to hear me confirm my loss to you but he didn't seem shocked when I said the type of person you were. He is quite the interesting world champion, but I'd hardly call him a friend."

Yugi looked down as Seto continued, packing up his bag without the brunet noticing, "I owed him a favour though I'd hardly call talking to a friend a fair repayment of that favour."

"I appreciate you coming down here," Yugi stood up not looking at Seto, "I do…but I'm fine, really. Atemu didn't need to call you…I just had a weird day, and my emotions were all out of whack…it won't happen again, thanks Seto"

Yugi went to walk away until a firm hand grabbed his wrist halting his movement.

"Are you really this upset about it? You'd dismiss me without even discussing it?" Yugi didn't reply and only looked away, "How do you figure it had anything to do with you?"

"If we didn't duel…" Yugi began to shake in Seto's grip trying hard to keep his tears at bay in front of him, "you would've…"

"Watched my little brother die? I'd hardly call that something to get upset about" Seto stood up as Yugi's expression softened and looked shocked, "If we hadn't dueled I would've watched Noah's life slip away forever…given my state at the time, it would've been pushed over the edge. No, Yugi, by keeping me away from seeing him die I was able to regain something I didn't realize I lost"

"W-What?" Yugi looked up at Seto a single tear falling from his face as Seto smiled widely.

"A friend," Seto walked ahead of Yugi turning his head slightly to the side, "It was just Mokuba and I at the orphanage, I was so busy protecting him that I didn't make a single friend. I had to become cold, calculated and be one step ahead of the bullies to protect him. When my step father adopted us, and Noah came into my life…I hated him. He was frail, sick and too smart for his own good. Our step father new Noah was going to die, so he pressured me to become as smart as him to take over."

Seto chuckled before continuing, "And you know what Noah did? He did my homework for me and told me to sneak out and make friends. I hated the kid for being my step father's biological son…but he did everything to insure I'd be happy. When my ruthless of a step father died, I vowed that I'd work hard and take care of both Noah and Mokuba. I became just like my step father: colder, distant and a workaholic. Noah would try to talk to me, and I'd snap at him or kick him out of my office."

Seto sighed, "The day I devastated your grandfather, Noah told me in the hospital just prior that he was tired of watching me suffer for them…that I didn't need to be so cold, that I could let someone in. And I told him he was a liar, and spoke nonsense. That everyone I let in either manipulated me or died, and how was Noah going to be any different…Noah's only wish was for me to make a friend that day"

Seto turned and looked at Yugi's crying face, "After you beat me, and despite what I did, you offered your hand in friendship. Because of you, I got to make Noah's last wish come true…and I didn't have to watch him leave without knowing that. You blaming yourself all these years for something you didn't understand when all you had to do was ask. Open up Yugi, ask, and share what's inside. Otherwise you're a dirty hypocrite and not good enough to be Noah's gift to me."

Seto grinned when he saw Yugi nod rapidly, "Good. Four fifty eight Crescent Avenue."

"H-Huh…?" Yugi questioned drying his tears.

"It's where Atemu lives, he didn't tell me…but he should know better than to call a computer hacker genius from a land line," Seto smirked before turning away from Yugi, "I need to get Mokuba's present…remember what I said Yugi, we're friends and the next time I hear from another party you're holding something that involves me inside…I'll knock you out"

"T-Thanks Seto…" Yugi nodded as Seto walked off. Yugi couldn't believe what happened and unfolded in front of him. He felt like the world was off his shoulders for that brief moment and threw his backpack over his shoulder in haste. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

Atemu stretched high as he exited his apartment complex and walked across the road. Cursing as the end of summer air hit his bare chest. He hated how his mailbox was across the street from his complex, didn't even attach it to the same building. He just got his letters out of the mailbox when a hand slammed the box shut causing Atemu to be slightly startled.

"Afternoon, Yugi" Atemu greeted before looking down at his mail before realizing something, "Wait, how did you know I'd be here?"

"What's your…age…" Yugi breathed heavily Atemu raising an eyebrow hardly able to hear him.

"What?" Atemu questioned as Yugi straightened up and caught his breath.

"What's your age, where were you born, when did you start dueling, do you have many friends, did you leave friends behind, what are you studying, what is your favourite duel monsters card, do you have any siblings" Yugi asked extremely quickly and jumbled everything together so it almost didn't seem like they were questions.

"nineteen, Cairo Egypt, three years ago, no, one his name is Mahado, history and culture studies, dark magician, no I'm an only child" Atemu answered locking his mailbox and grinning, "Was that so hard?"

Yugi breathed heavily and looked at Atemu before turning away in a blush. He answered so quickly that he knew he wasn't lying. Yugi noticed Atemu began to walk back across the street and hurried after him.

"You called Seto," Yugi said as Atemu's hand rested on the door to get back into the apartment complex.

"I did"

"Why?"

"Figured you had something wrong or I was missing something, either way needed to confirm things."

"So you just wanted to confirm I wasn't lying?"

"And make sure you didn't drag the next idol of yours in the middle of the street to cry"

Yugi frowned and turned away from Atemu glaring at the door. Atemu chuckled.

"You were upset Yugi, I figured it might help. That's it" Atemu pushed the door open and stopped when he felt Yugi's hand on his wrist.

"Why didn't you come to class then? If you weren't upset with me…" Yugi said looking Atemu straight in the eyes.

"My roommate is an idiot and set off the fire alarm," Atemu shook his head, "Been dealing with that all morning and couldn't come in."

Yugi's eyes went wide at Atemu's answer. All day he thought Atemu didn't come in because he didn't want to see him and this whole time it was something silly like that. Yugi's hands trembled. Atemu smiled at him and Yugi felt his heart skip a beat. He knew what he was feeling and it took every ounce of courage within him built up thanks to Seto's words to say.

"I-I….like you!" Yugi blurted out a blush going across his face when he realized what he said. He began to get anxious when Atemu raised an eyebrow at him, grinned and then looked away.

"You took notes I presume?" Atemu asked not looking at Yugi as Yugi frantically searched his bag and handed him the notes.

"I did! An extra copy for you!" Yugi said quickly before returning to being anxious, waiting for Atemu's response.

Atemu looked at him, smirked and replied "See you in class next Monday Yugi,"

And pushed the door open and shut it behind him before using his keycard to open the inner door leaving Yugi to stand outside the apartment complex.

That was it? That's the response Yugi got? Yugi felt like he was going to throw up. He'd have gone after Atemu if he could get in but instead turned to walk home. Yugi felt anxious and nervous the whole way home. After all that to make him feel better he just blew him off. Yugi couldn't help but feel irritated at his idol and ran the whole way home to try and clear his head.

* * *

"So like…like, like…or just you know…friend like…" Jounouchi asked folding his arms across his chest. He had dirty blonde hair and he was about a foot and a half taller than Yugi.

"Well…I don't know…" Yugi blushed, fidgeting with the end of his pants as he sat cross legged beside Jounouchi on his couch, "He…took me out to dinner…he comforted me…he even called Seto to cheer me up…I guess…like like?"

"So you told…our idol…you liked liked him?" Jounouchi raised his eyebrow, "And he said…?"

"That's the thing!" Yugi raised his hands in the air, "After all that he just said 'see you on Monday' and blew me off!"

"Ouch" Jounouchi replied.

"Exactly!" Yugi fell against the back of the couch, "What…what do I do now?"

"Probably not a good idea to tackle him in the streets again- or show up unannounced at his apartment…or blurt out any more feelings towards him…"

"I'm serious Jou!"

"Ah…I don't have much…well…advice for stuff like this," Jounouchi scratched his head, "I mean…I can't even get Mai to acknowledge me! How am I supposed to give you advice on this?"

"Mai still ignoring you?" Yugi frowned, feeling sorry for his best friend.

"Yea man, ever since she moved in across the hall…I've been doing little subtle attempts to make her notice me, and she ignores them all" Jounouchi shook his head, "She'll say 'hi jou' or something and that's it. Nothing!"

"Guess I'm asking the wrong person for advice…" Yugi sighed.

"Hey shut up!" Jounouchi playfully punched Yugi's shoulder, "Man…we suck at this whole dating thing don't we."

"And that's another thing!" Yugi exclaimed catching Jounouchi off guard, "He takes me out for coffee AND dinner…and yet, no confirmation not once what the heck those were!"

"Maybe he isn't seeing it the same way you are?" Jounouchi questioned as Yugi glared, "No I'm serious Yug! Maybe he just…thinks he's being nice? I mean, you're a guy…he's a guy…"

"So" Yugi frowned as Jounouchi waved his hands.

"No, I didn't mean it like that Yug! I mean, I know you swing that way" Jounouchi nodded, "And fully respect that about you! But maybe he's…never been confessed to by a guy before. He's an idol, bet he has all the ladies throwing themselves at his feet but a guy? Seems it's always harder for some reason for guys to say anything to another guy… worlds messed up man"

"Exactly!" Yugi flailed, "It took everything in me to say that and then I get 'see you on Monday' ugh…he just…he frustrates me!"

"Ha ha sounds like you do, like like him" Jounouchi nudged Yugi as Yugi glared, "We're in the same boat man…just the other day Mai paid for my takeout food before I got to the door…what the hell is up with that? So if you figure this thing out…be sure to fill me in okay?"

"Likewise" Yugi sighed and slouched into the couch, mashing the buttons on the T.V. controller to find something to watch. How was Yugi going to face Atemu on Monday? Yugi shot up from the couch in shock.

"And I didn't even apologize to him yet!" Yugi exclaimed making Jou laugh hysterically at his friends scatter brain response before receiving a punch in the shoulder from the smaller man.

* * *

**AN:** This chapter was posted quicker then I planned on updating this story! I really don't like leaving off on such sad notes with my stories…so I had to bounce back to some positivity! So ding ding ding! Noah was the brother who died. And we get to see a little more into Yugi's life and less into Atemu's this chapter. How the enigma tides have turned eh? Also it was fun to introduce some more of the Yugioh universe characters into here as supporting roles. Man, wait until you see who Atemu's roommate is! That'll be next chapter!

Thanks to the reviews and favourites I have so far, you guys are awesome!


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **This chapter will be a bit intense and go back and forth a tad, but I hope you enjoy it though! Some mild cursing as you'll get introduced to Atemu's roommate this chapter. He's…not as well versed.

**Chapter 5: **

Atemu stared blankly as he was handed a test from professor Hopkins. One major thought running through his mind at that moment was why paper copies and not on the computer? Almost as if the professor could read his mind he gave a small smile and continued on. Atemu sighed in response and glanced down at his phone. Three missed calls and five missed text messages by this point. Atemu ignored them still and looked back at his test.

Only three weeks into the course and already they were getting a test on the material covered. Given Atemu's hectic schedule lately he was surprised he even made it in today. He rubbed his temples trying to relax his nerves as he looked through all the questions of the test. Atemu's expression and demeanor changed almost instantly when he realized he knew every single answer. One thing about taking ancient Egyptian as his first major culture course was Atemu felt he had an edge coming from that heritage and hearing most of it throughout his childhood. However, despite all that there were still parts of the culture he didn't know and that's when he turned to look over at Yugi.

Thanks to Yugi's expert notes, he was able to read and understand anything he didn't know already quite clearly. He couldn't help but inwardly smile as he watched Yugi busily write down the answers. He looked back at his test and smiled. It was going to be a breeze.

* * *

Atemu after a short while got up from his seat and handed Professor Hopkins his test. He wasn't the first one to finish, as Yugi had already handed his in moments before. Hopkins seemed to frown at Atemu regardless making Atemu raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Two classes missed and one of the first to finish…shouldn't you take some time and verify your answers?" Hopkins asked not looking up at Atemu from looking through his test. Atemu couldn't help but feel a bit anxious, second guessing his responses as his instructor peered over the test. He frowned, he was obviously challenging his intellect straight on based on his habits in the class rather than knowing what he wrote. He collected himself and confirmed his confidence in his answers before replying.

"I apologize for being absent," Atemu began as Hopkins looked up at him with a stern look, "But I got caught up from a classmate and I'm confident in my responses."

"We will see" Hopkins replied almost sounding as if he sighed and turned away from Atemu. Atemu decided not to argue further and left the classroom.

He smirked as he looked back at the door he exited. Predicable instructor, looking at the celebrity student with extra care hoping he will be the reason to scare him straight. It wasn't the first time a teacher challenged him because of his current status and it was a boring personality quirk he's seen before.

He continued to walk through the school politely greeting individuals who recognized him and signing the odd duel monsters merchandise they seem to always have to present to him. Typical fans despite being many different shapes, sizes and ages they still seem to act the same.

Atemu peered down as he walked at his phone. The missed calls and messages doubling by this point which made him sigh. Atemu was going to make him wait just like everyone else had too though and put his phone back in his pocket. He started to think about how he would handle the situation once he got back.

He noticed Yugi sitting down the hallway as he always did, eating his lunch quietly by himself. Yugi was the one person lately Atemu couldn't predict and every time he thought he had him figured out, Yugi surprised him by doing something out of the ordinary. Atemu was still trying to figure out how Yugi managed to find his apartment so quickly and ambush him the other day. Atemu found his current thought side tracked as he continued to think about Yugi.

Before he realized it, Atemu was standing close to Yugi and snapped out of his daze just in time to realize Yugi was staring up at him.

"Hi Atemu" Yugi smiled before looking back at his lunch and holding up an extra sandwich, "Hungry?"

Atemu raised an eyebrow before nodding and taking the sandwich from Yugi who looked away. They quietly ate their sandwiches not looking at each other or continuing the conversation. Did Yugi know Atemu wouldn't have had time to pack a lunch? Was he spying on him now? Several different thoughts of similar style ran through Atemu's mind as he ate the sandwich. Atemu shook his head at the nonsense going through his mind. Even if Yugi managed to find the apartment again, he couldn't get in because of the secure key locks. Atemu couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Yugi being some sort of secret agent and managing to break into a secure building.

"Thinking of something funny?" Yugi asked as Atemu turned and realized he must've actually chuckled out loud.

"Something like that" Atemu replied as Yugi just smiled and went back to finishing his lunch. Atemu was half expecting a jumbled mess of questions again from Yugi but he didn't seem to continue. Atemu knew by now he couldn't predict the shorter man with the little intel he had on him and figured the best course of action at this point was to prod a bit further.

"Is this your first year?" Atemu asked as Yugi looked over with a shocked expression. Was it really that strange Atemu was partaking in small talk? It seemed like that was all they did and wasn't sure what was going through Yugi's head.

" Oh right," Yugi seemed to confirm something he must've been thinking before continuing, "I'm Seventeen."

Atemu couldn't help but look shocked at Yugi's response. It was true Yugi was shorter than him by almost a foot but he didn't realize he was also younger than him too. Given how close they both were in age though, Atemu wasn't surprised he didn't know but was more surprised because he didn't expect it.

"So all your friends you were texting the other day?" Atemu asked as Yugi nodded.

"Yea, they are still in high school…" Yugi looked away suddenly after responding, "…I forgot you saw those"

Atemu chuckled again before standing up and looking down at Yugi. Atemu pulled out his phone and realized the messages were getting more urgent by the minute.

"Hope you did well on the test" Yugi nodded acknowledging Atemu's sudden rise as he was about to leave.

Atemu peered back at his phone before looking at Yugi. He wondered for a moment what he would say if he showed up with Yugi. It'd at least buy him a few more weeks of quiet time before he could wrap his head around the situation.

"Yugi," Atemu began straightening up and putting his phone away, "Would you do me a favour? No questions asked?"

Yugi seemed to stand up almost as quickly as Atemu asked nodding his head quickly. "Of course..!"

"my roommate is out for awhile...and..." Atemu began to explain as Yugi packed up his things, "It'd help me out of a stressful situation"

Yugi seemed to look a bit shocked but re-nodded in agreement to Atemu's request. Atemu signaled to Yugi he wanted him to follow and walked back down the hallway. He definitely owed Yugi for this one and thought about ways he could repay him as they walked in silence.

* * *

Yugi wasn't sure what Atemu wanted but realized quickly he was leading Yugi someplace in great urgency judging by their current walking pace. He wanted to ask where they were going but Atemu looked so deep in thought he didn't want to interrupt or upset him. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not to agree to a request without asking questions.

As they approached Atemu's apartment building, Yugi couldn't help but remember his confession a week ago that happened right where they were currently standing. A lump formed in his throat and it caused him to swallow harder than normal. Atemu hadn't acknowledge the confession since and seemed to not change his demeanor around Yugi at all. Yugi wasn't sure what to make of it. He was sure he said it clearly and unmistakably but the conversation with Jou that same night, made him second guess that now.

He felt a faint blush go across his face as Atemu led him into the building he so quickly rejected him from not a week prior. Luckily Atemu was in front of him and couldn't see his face at this moment. Yugi shook his head to clear his thoughts from last week. It would have to wait until after Atemu expressed what he needed from Yugi. Atemu was there for Yugi when he needed someone a few weeks ago and he wanted to make sure he focused enough to repay the favour.

Yugi followed Atemu up the stairs and to an apartment door on the fourth floor. Yugi looked around noticing the marble like walls and flooring with a beautiful multi coloured rug leading down the middle. He recognized the building last week when he came as being one they advertise regularly on T.V. as high class but you wouldn't ever know it from the outside. Inside the building however he could definitely see the money was put on the inside look and not the outside.

His attention refocused when Atemu opened the door. He didn't use a key or anything to get in and wondered why the door was unlocked. Atemu mentioned his roommate was out so why wouldn't they lock it up?

Yugi was about to take off his shoes when Atemu put a hand up stopping him and shook his head. Yugi shut the door behind him instead and followed Atemu in. Right away after coming in the door way there was a giant closet against the left wall that seemed to go all the way down the hallway. Yugi could clearly see about four doorways off the hallway but only three of them had actual sliding doors. The first room to their right didn't and it looked to be the kitchen.

Atemu led Yugi through the kitchen into the living room that was connected to it and Yugi couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. The apartment was much bigger than the one he stayed in with his grandfather already and they hadn't even made it all the way through. Yugi remembered he was in the apartment of a celebrity and there came that blush again.

Yugi was so focused on looking around he didn't realize Atemu had already stopped in the living room. Yugi refocused and stopped about a foot in front of Atemu. Yugi's eyes went wide when he saw a man sitting on the couch. The man had tanned skin much like Atemu and dark crimson eyes. He was wearing a grey business suit and his dark black hair was neatly kept and short. He looked to be much older than Yugi and if he would have to guess just by facial appearances alone was related in some way to Atemu.

"Hi it's nice to meet you, I'm Yugi Mutou" Yugi greeted holding out a hand to the individual he didn't recognize. The man stood up, looked at Yugi's hand and sighed instead of responding. Yugi retracted his hand and looked up at Atemu who was smirking at this point at the glaring older man.

The man seemed to respond looking at Atemu but Yugi didn't recognize the language he was speaking. Yugi thought that it might be Arabic given Atemu's heritage but having never heard Arabic before couldn't be positive. Atemu and the man seemed to talk for a few minutes. Yugi wished he knew what they were saying and found it a bit rude they would speak in another language in front of him. Atemu didn't look at all upset and in fact seemed to give off his confident atmosphere he usually did when Yugi watched him duel. The older man however, looked right annoyed and seemed to glare further as their conversation continued the only word Yugi could make out was 'Atemu'.

Yugi watched as Atemu stepped behind him and turned his attention back to the older man. Yugi could no longer see Atemu behind him but felt him brush up against his back causing him to blush again.

"You know, it's quite rude to talk in front of someone who can not understand us" Atemu said from behind Yugi in a very well-mannered and sophisticated tone. "Shall we switch to a more appropriate language?"

"Atemu" The man said sternly, "Don't push it"

"Push what?" Atemu replied. Yugi didn't like how dark of a glare the older man had towards him and couldn't help but wonder what on earth they talked about prior. Almost as if he could read his thoughts, Atemu answered his mental question by wrapping his warm arms around him. Yugi's blush darkened wondering what was going on through Atemu's mind. Yugi looked up at the older man as he could feel Atemu's head rest gently on Yugi's right shoulder. His head only inches away from Yugi's and Yugi could feel Atemu's breath on his cheek as he continued.

"What am I pushing?" Atemu repeated, tightening his hug on Yugi as he completed the question. The older man seemed to switch back to the language he spoke before, said a few sentences to Atemu before pushing past them and slamming a door in the distance. Yugi could only assume he had left.

"Thanks Yugi" Atemu said before letting Yugi go and gently pulling Yugi around to face him.

"Um…what…what happened?" Yugi asked, nervous about the situation, "He looked mad."

"He will get over it" Atemu replied as he made his way back into the kitchen, "Did you want a drink?"

"What was the favour you needed A-Atemu…?" Yugi asked not understanding what just happened.

"That was it." Atemu stated calmly as Yugi could hear sounds of the fridge open. Yugi couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at Atemu's responses. He wasn't giving Yugi a lot of details and just like a week ago, left Yugi confused as to where the two stood even more.

Atemu came out with two glasses of water and tried to hand one to Yugi but he didn't accept it.

Atemu raised an eyebrow at Yugi's rejection of the glass but said nothing only stared at Yugi. After a moment Yugi pushed past Atemu and went into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Atemu asked, confusion laced on his voice.

"Well if that's all you needed, I should go" Yugi stated without turning around. A lot of emotions built up inside of Yugi as he thought about what happened. Did Atemu use him to make the man upset? Did Atemu actually like him and the man was angry at that? Was this all a game to Atemu? And then it clicked. The king of games was great at strategies and manipulating his opponents to fall for his carefully planned traps in duel monsters. If this was a duel monsters game, Yugi would've just been used to defeat Atemu's opponent. He hated that feeling more than not knowing what Atemu thought.

"Yugi," Atemu began but Yugi looked at him with a stern expression.

"We're even now. Things are settled. Just leave me alone" Yugi responded, feeling like he was taken advantage of at this point.

"If that is what you wish," Atemu said in the same tone he used to speak to the older man as Yugi watched him put the glasses on the table breaking eye contact with him.

"So you're not going to tell me what any of that was before I leave…?" Yugi asked as Atemu continued to look away from him.

Atemu didn't say a word as he sat down on the couch beside the glasses on the table. Yugi sighed and continued through the kitchen and to the front door. He hesitated at the door before exiting it. He calmly collected himself for a moment before turning the nob.

"Thank you again for helping me Yugi" He could hear Atemu shout as he exited the apartment and closed the door behind him. Yugi leaned up against the door and stared up at the ceiling. What on earth just happened and why was he so angry at the duel king idol? He felt like he was going to throw up and decided to proceed to running as quickly as he could away from Atemu's apartment.

* * *

Yugi got half way home before he noticed Jou was walking across the street towards the game shop. He completely forgot his friend was coming over today and rushed across the street to meet up with him.

"Jounouchi" Yugi breathed heavily as he caught up to the blond.

"Oh hey Yug," Jounouchi stated turning around and smiling at him, "Did your classes run late?"

"No…I was at Atemu's apartment…" Yugi said as Jounouchi's eyes went wide.

"Seriously?" Jou whistled, "What was it like?"

"Awful" Yugi quickly said before thinking.

"Awful?" Jounouchi asked, "Like it was run down or something?"

"No, no…the apartment itself was nice, really big and clean…" Yugi shook his head.

"What did he do?" Jounouchi folded his arms across his chest knowing that look of hurt all too well from his best friend.

Yugi explained the entire scenario from how Atemu requested the favour no questions asked, to the different language and other man and finally to Atemu not answering his questions or explaining the scenario clearly to him.

Jounouchi seemed to get redder in the face as Yugi continued the story and finally looked like he snapped.

"So he used ya?!" Jou snapped, "Idol or not, that's just low!"

"Well…he didn't explain to me what happened…" Yugi said looking down, "But I guess that's why I'm upset…he seems to just expect me to know or he isn't listening…or..."

When Yugi looked back up Jou was already halfway down the street running towards where Yugi said Atemu lived. Realizing he got Jou riled up, Yugi took off after him quickly yelling for him to stop.

* * *

Atemu sighed as he exited the apartment complex and walked across the street to the mailbox. He swore he'd scold his roommate as soon as he got in for never checking the mail. They both had keys and it was on their way to school, why couldn't he just check?

As he proceeded back to the building he saw his roommate walking up the side walk. He proceeded to wave the mail at him to which his roommate responded with a shrug.

"It takes two minutes," Atemu narrowed his eyes as his roommate approached him, "Two"

"Two minutes you can handle I'm sure" the roommate smirked brushing his silver hair out of his face.

"Bakura…" Atemu sighed, "You're lazy"

"And you're entitled, what's your point?" Bakura replied as Atemu chuckled. "I could do this all day"

"I'll take a rain cheque…" Atemu rubbed his temples before Bakura folded his arms.

"…ah, he showed up today didn't he" Bakura shook his head, "You should just tell him to fuck off"

"Yes because that will work" Atemu rolled his eyes, "Besides, a friend of mine helped me with the scenario this time…so he left without causing too much issues"

"Oh yea? A friend? That was quick" Bakura laughed.

"Well…former friend, he's mad at me right now" Atemu corrected himself.

"So I'm to assume then the angry person approaching you right now is him?" Bakura asked pointing behind him. Atemu raised an eyebrow and turned around hesitantly remembering the last time Bakura said 'look behind you' and proceeded to knock him down. His trust in his roommate was less that day.

Atemu noticed a man he didn't recognize approaching him quickly. He would've assumed it was a fan until he noticed Yugi chasing after him and the man had clenched fists. Will this day never end?

"Oh this is going to be good" Bakura smirked from behind Atemu.

"Hey, you!" Jou snapped as he approached Atemu standing only a few feet away from him, "What the hell is your problem?"

"Do I know you?" Atemu questioned as Yugi ran up and was trying to catch his breath.

"Nah, you don't but you know my best pal, Yugi" Jou pointed from behind him, "You know you got some nerve"

"Oh?" Atemu asked looking over at Yugi, "What is going on Yugi?"

"I'm sorry…" Yugi shook his head, "Jou let's go okay?"

"No man, and don't apologize!" Jou looked back at Atemu and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, "I don't know what you're used to, but you don't just use someone for your own gains here!"

"Go for the face, celebrities hate to get that messed up!" Bakura laughed.

"Stay out of this Bakura, don't you have something to do?" Atemu snapped at the silver haired man behind him.

"Nah, I better stay so you don't get mangled too much" Bakura chuckled.

"Jou stop!" Yugi pleaded at his friend to let go of Atemu but he didn't listen.

"Don't just ignore me" Jou snapped and was shocked to feel Atemu's grip on his hand. He slowly pried Jou's fingers off him one by one until Jou was no longer holding him by the shirt anymore and took a step back. Jounouchi was shocked at how strong Atemu was despite his slender frame.

"I didn't ignore you," Atemu narrowed his eyes and looked down at Yugi. Though completely unexpected this kind of surprise was not something that intrigued him in the slightest. He looked at Yugi with disappointment. "Could not give me one day to collect my thoughts before you call someone to confront me?"

"I didn't…" Yugi looked down.

"Don't blame Yugi! He told me what happened and I knew you'd just string him along again!" Jou snapped. Atemu rolled his eyes which only made Jounouchi angrier. "Dude what the hell?"

"So your friend tells you a story and you immediately come after the individual he spoke of, fists clenched without first asking said individual what happened?" Atemu narrowed his eyes, "I can see Yugi has poor choice in friends"

"What was that?" Jou asked, "Don't turn this on me! You're the scumbag that used Yugi!"

Atemu sighed as he pushed past Jou and walked up to Yugi so he was only a short distance away from him.

"Is this true?" Atemu asked Yugi directly as Yugi began to fidget so he repeated, "Did you say I used you?"

"Well…I…" Yugi said not making eye contact with Atemu, "I just don't understand…"

As Yugi started to think about the scenario, he couldn't help but feel bad. He completely judged Atemu before getting a response out of him and what's worse he told Jounouchi before waiting a bit to understand the situation. As Yugi looked up to apologize to Atemu he realized Atemu's face was now inches away from his.

Atemu lightly grabbed the back of Yugi's head and pulled him into a kiss. Jou looked shocked but was nowhere near as confused and shocked as Yugi. Yugi kept his eyes open as Atemu's were closed. Atemu gently pulled away and whispered.

"I'm sorry…I was in a situation and didn't know what else to do" Atemu straightened up as Yugi's face was a dark red by this point, "Thank you sincerely for helping me."

Atemu turned around, gave Yugi a small wave before heading inside his apartment complex with Bakura leaving Jounouchi and Yugi standing there dumbfounded.

"Uh…what just happened…" Jou scratched the back of his head and looked at his friend, "Yugi?"

Yugi just stood there gently placing a hand on his lips replaying the scenario over and over in his mind. Atemu, his idol was more confusing then he originally anticipated and yet, he couldn't help but want more.

**Chapter 5 end.**

**AN: **Pretty sure this will be one of the longest chapters! Sorry I felt there just wasn't a good point to end all of this at any point until this part. It just didn't flow as nicely ending it sooner. I guess Yugi's not the only one who is an enigma eh?


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: **Wow! First of all, thank you so much for all the new favourites and follows! I'm really glad you guys are enjoying the story so far! A special thanks to my reviewer, StarOfFeanor who has been with me since the beginning and giving my awesome feedback as I continue. Seriously, your comments mean the world and I really appreciate you taking not only the time to read the story, but also comment too!

This one is going to be a fun chapter, hope you all like it!

**Chapter 6:**

The water was cool, refreshing and rippled down his back as each droplet sent a wave of relaxation through his skin to his muscles. No matter what anyone said, showers were refreshing and could relax you in a moments notice. If only Atemu's mind could relax fully.

He grabbed the nearby towel, wrapped it around himself and wandered out into the hallway towards the kitchen. Grabbed himself a glass of water and sat down on the couch in the living room. Thursday was the one day he didn't have any classes to go to during the week but it was also the day Bakura was out so Atemu wasn't worried about walking around the house partially naked.

He leaned his head back against the couch taking a large sip of water, watching the clock intently as he evenly spaced out his breaths. He would be here soon expecting an explanation, one Atemu wasn't even sure he knew himself.

Did he use Yugi? Atemu asked this question over and over in his head, replaying the entire scenario carefully trying to piece together an answer but was always at a loss. His little demonstration last week in front of his apartment already broadcast through the media and many newstations just itching for Atemu to give out the details. He was used to the explosion of attention and questions as it's something he had come to expect from being in the spotlight for the last two years but what about Yugi. Yugi was used to hiding away and dodging people, going unnoticed when he wanted to the thought of him out in the spotlight made Atemu's nose curl.

He heard a soft knock at the apartment door. He looked up at the time and sighed, realizing it was still quite early for him to arrive. He slowly got up, not bothering to put anything on besides his towel and proceeded to opening the door.

Yugi's face went extremely red when he saw Atemu's honey tanned skin appear when the door opened. Barechested and only wearing a towel, hair slightly messed and still the odd bead of water spread out throughout his body. Yugi swallowed hard when Atemu didn't seem to mind there was a crew of camera's standing behind him and a bunch of reporters anxiously awaiting Atemu's first words.

"Uh…they sort of barged in…" Yugi scratched his head looking at his feet unable to stare at the attractive half naked Egyptian man standing before him, "Really nice lady let us in…so that…you didn't have to come down…"

Atemu raised an eyebrow at Yugi's embarrassed state and without saying anything lightly pulled the shorter man into the apartment before slamming the door in the paparazzi's face. Atemu let go instantly when Yugi was save inside, and proceeded to walk through the kitchen and back to his spot on the couch.

Yugi followed Atemu in silence, going over all the questions he had for him in his head. Yugi was thrilled when Monday Atemu agreed to answer all his questions this Thursday and even invited him back over to his apartment. Yugi loved the apartment. It was spacious and warm, with a hint of jasmine in the air. Yugi often wondered if that was a result of Atemu's roommate or Atemu himself. Atemu oftened smelt like a hint of jasmine when around Yugi so he couldn't help but lean on the latter. He quickly shook his head from those thoughts, feeling his face turn pink again.

Atemu watched as Yugi slowly sat down in the loveseat across from him sensing a bit of nervousness from him.

"Does my current appearance bother you?" Atemu asked, Yugi almost leaping at the sound of his voice finally.

"N-No…! That's okay…I'm early anyway…" Yugi fidgeted as he looked at Atemu to try and focus on what he came to do, "So um…thanks for agreeing to meet me…"

Atemu gave a slight nod to Yugi as he returned to drinking his water, "Did you want something to drink?"

"No no…" Yugi waved his hands in dismissal of the offer.

"It's just water Yugi…" Atemu stated as he stood up, wandered into the kitchen and came back with the glass, "Doesn't cost anything, it's free"

"O-okay…"Yugi said trying hard to iron out his voice from all the tension in the air, "That man…who was in your apartment…"

"My well-kept, professional and very invasive father," Atemu answered before Yugi could fully ask, "Doesn't really respect my lifestyle choices"

"L-lifestyle choices..?" Yugi asked feeling that blush creep up again, clawing at the surface of his skin to come out.

"Being a dueling idol," Atemu nodded, "He thinks there's a lot better things I could be doing to get famous"

"But you didn't really do it to become famous…" Yugi quickly said causing Atemu to chuckle.

"I'm glad someone could see it that way," Atemu look a long drink of his water before leaning and resting his arms on his knees.

"So um…what did…your father want?" Yugi asked, "I mean…uh why did you…um…"

"It's okay Yugi," Atemu smiled at the smaller man, "Relax. I told you I'd answer your questions on the matter, no need to be nervous."

"Sorry…"Yugi coughed cleared his throat to try again, "Why did you need me then?"

"My father is a very…conservative man to put it as nicely as possible," Atemu sighed before glancing to the side to think for a moment, "He has a very cut and dry opinion and expectation of me. He required something out of me, that I wasn't ready for and thus needed a way out of the situation until I could formulate a proper plan"

"He's not happy with you taking school and advancing your education?" Yugi asked Atemu shaking his head in response.

"No, not at all…figured I should've just gone to a school in Egypt where I could be closely monitored by him. He was livid when I told him my first culture study course was Egypt, thought I was mocking him" Atemu replied taking a final drink of his water before setting the glass down in front of him. He smiled when Yugi had already started to drink his own water.

"So he…wanted you to go back home?" Yugi asked politely watching Atemu carefully as to not cross a line with his questions.

"There's that," Atemu sighed deeply, "But the major issue, to get married to my fiancée already"

Yugi spit out his drink in response to Atemu's answer as Atemu looked at him with a confused expression.

"You're…engaged?!" Yugi asked before looking down, "I…I didn't know I'm…"

"It was news to me too," Atemu stated as Yugi looked up even more confused, "Haven't even met the woman. Got a called two weeks prior to my father's arrival that I was required to marry his business partners daughter, heard stories about her…but I've never actually met her"

"You haven't even…met her?" Yugi asked, "How…how are you supposed to marry her then?"

"My father probably figures like all parents who arrange marriages do…I'm just supposed to accept it for the betterment of the family" Atemu rolled his eyes, "Which is a load of crap, really. He just wants to make sure I have no control over any decision"

"So that's why you…" Yugi nodded finally understanding this very confusing scenario.

"Exactly…I'm sorry Yugi," Atemu leaned back against the couch, "I didn't know what else to do…"

"No I…I strangely get it," Yugi shook his head before smiling warmly at Atemu, "Your dad showed up unannounced to force this engagement/marriage on you…and you needed something to make him flustered enough he'd leave. If he was picturing you marrying a woman…I guess being with a guy…"

"Would buy me some time at least," Atemu nodded, "Exactly."

"Isn't there a law…or something we could dig up to help you?" Yugi stood up as Atemu chuckled.

"We?" Atemu questioned, "I've already dragged you into this enough…"

"Yea but the media thinks I'm your…well, it'd look weird if I wasn't around right?" Yugi nodded, "Besides, one of my friends is studying to be an international lawyer…he might be able to help"

"Yugi…" Atemu stated standing up along side Yugi and walking over to him, "About the kiss the other day…"

"No…you don't have to explain" Yugi waved his hands and closed his eyes with a big smile on his face, "I understand. I shouldn't have told Jou and caused the issue…you didn't know what else to do to rectify the scenario without causing Jou to get more upset…I understand what you were trying to do, and I'm not upset. I'm disappointed of course, but I get it…I mean if-"

Yugi's eyes snapped opened and went wide when he felt soft lips against his. Atemu's eyes were closed, and Yugi's heart pounded against his chest. He felt a soft but firm hand cup his cheek as Atemu slowly pulled away to look at him. Yugi's face was flushed, heart pounding and his thoughts even more confused. He only just started to understand Atemu's actions only to be thrown back into a complete sense of confusion.

"Thank you Yugi…really" Atemu said sincerely as he turned to walk back to sit on the couch.

"But I don't…" Yugi only managed to say before Atemu turned his eyes back to Yugi, crimson meeting violet in one of the most intense moments of Yugi's life.

"There is that other reason I can't marry a woman…" Atemu grinned before returning to sitting back on the couch, Yugi standing up dumbfounded.

* * *

After a long discussion about contacting his friend and figuring out Atemu's next move on fighting the arranged marriage, Yugi ended up heading home. Yugi was shocked that Atemu insisted on walking him home, despite no further context over the apartment kiss was made. Atemu would change the subject back to the matter at hand and eventually Yugi stopped trying to figure it out as he wasn't going to get an answer from the man any time soon.

Yugi arrived at the game shop all closed up for the night given it was quite late at this point, thanked Atemu and walked in. Atemu didn't seem to push anything and said goodnight and left.

Yugi gently closed the door behind him, rested his back against the door and slid down until he was on the floor. Every time he gets a question answered, several more pop up that go unanswered. Was Atemu gay was the main question stemming in Yugi's mind. The Egyptian man had kissed him now twice, once even after Yugi just finally understood the intention of the first kiss as if to make him question even further.

Yugi rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. A straight answer once would be nice. He looked over to see his grandfather standing in the doorway entrance to the living room.

"Sorry I'm late grandpa…it was…I was at Atemu's and…" Yugi started to explain when he saw the sad expression on his grandfather's face. His grandfather side glanced to the right of him as Yugi saw two figures walk up presenting themselves to him. Yugi couldn't help but clench his fists at the sight of the two before him and felt a rage build up inside of him he didn't realize he had.

* * *

**Chapter 6 end. **

**AN: **And hear Atemu had Yugi pegged as a confusing unpredictable man, yet here he is confusing poor Yugi even more! I wonder who the two people behind door number one is?


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: ahhhhh sorry for the long delay D: I actually had this written up in rough format but I was doing a few art shows and didn't manage to clean it up/edit it for a bit. Same exact reason for the after life story that I'm writing at the exact same time. Back to updating every week I promise!**

**Chapter 7**

The feeling of heat creeping up under his skin made his body squirm. Anxiety reaching out along with it: ready to grab hold and take complete control of his body. He hated that feeling but not as much as he hated them.

Without word or evening a greeting he was told, not asked, to come into the living room and sit on the couch. Yugi had a sneaky suspicion with how much the media was buzzing lately about the situation unfolding they would show up. He desperately begged his subconscious that they were not here for what he thought they were otherwise he may just lose all composure.

His grandfather sat next to him with the same expression on his face. Yugi knew his grandpa loved them deep down, way deep down, but started to get even more anxious when it appeared he didn't know what was going on either.

With a quick flick of their wrist, the television turned on right to the station they wanted both of them to see.

_Atemu Sennen, world champion of duel monsters has recently won yet another challenger match with great ease, placing him the first ever duelist to consecutively beat 5 challenge matches after winning the title! But that's not what the biggest shocker to fans is recently!_

_It seems the young duel king has begun a romantic relationship with a university boy, Yugi Mutou. The youngest to ever graduate high school at Domino high at age 16. It seems the young boy is also a prodigy in his own right and probably why the duel king has taken a liking to him fans speculate!_

_But what's Yugi's motive? Inside sources have said that the boys family situation is rocky, given he lives with his grandfather and not his parents. Sources have brought to our attention though that his grandfather is in tight financial trouble and it could be a motive for the young boy's interest in the famous Atemu. It seems his parents are out of the picture for good, sources say they haven't seen them even visit him in a few years. Neighbours worry that the young boy was abandoned despite being gifted intellectually and well mannered, and often wonder who could do such a thing._

_Still no sources have dug up anything on Atemu prior to his duel championship status, but despite that we can already assume the young king is financially well off! _

_Is it a union of love or a financial situation? Either way no comments have been received from Atemu directly on the matter or the Mutou family. You will just have to stay tuned for the latest information that Domino New channel 4 will have when we get it! _

_Atemu Sennen will be playing another challenger match this weekend in Tokyo and his opponent is –_

Just when the network was about to announce who Atemu's next challenger opponent would be, they quickly turned off the television. Yugi braced himself for what would come next. He knew the media would start digging into his background given the current rumors and sightings of him and Atemu. He didn't expect it to get so in depth and far.

Yugi looked over at his grandfather who was looking down by this point. He thought he had some more time to figure things out with his grandfather about their finances before the media got ahold of it. His stomach turned at the thought, as he knew he was the direct reason they were struggling.

"Financial troubles, celebrity dating, rumors already…" The man with slick black hair began. He was tall, averaging around 6 feet and a very slender build. He had stern looking violet eyes matching Yugi's in colour only, but that was as far as their similarities went. The woman beside him with amber coloured hair, had grey coloured eyes and in the light her hair almost looked red. Both adults looked angry which only made the tension in the room build.

"Our jobs require us to be professionals…" The woman began looking at Sugoroku directly, "…and media attention rumors like this are causing us grief at our jobs! We could get fired for misrepresenting ourselves and being in this kind of negative light!"

"I am sorry my child…I didn't mean to cause you trouble," Sugoroku began not able to look at the woman directly.

"The hiding I could tolerate…" The man turned his attention, "But you! You are supposed to be studying not gallivanting with a celebrity becoming the focal point of the news!"

Both of them looked at Yugi expecting a response but he didn't give it. He only looked away from them and tried not to let his anger go.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself Yugi?" The woman said coldly walking up to Yugi who was sitting with clenched fists in his lap, "You are causing nothing but problems for your father and I!"

"No" Yugi simply put looking at his mother directly when he said it.

Yugi's head tilted and his eyes went wide. The amber haired woman, his mother, had struck him so hard that it caused his entire face to sting.

"After everything we did for you, this is what you do! Well I hope you are happy Yugi," His mother strained up and folded her arms, "Because of this…your father and may be forced to disown you just to get the heat off…"

There was a long pause of quiet after his mother finished her words. Sugoroku looked shocked almost sick while Yugi made no change in expression only clutched his cheek from where his mother struck him. He felt absolutely nothing. He expected his parents to disown him, almost felt like they were too scared to do it to his face and already had done so. Even to hear the words finally didn't seem to cause an emotion for Yugi at all and only his grandfather looked mortified.

"And thanks to your behavior we will have to investigate Atemu," His father stated as Yugi looked up at him with a confused expression, "Disowning you will only solve half this problem maybe…if we give the media something else to focus on, at least the rumors and nonsense about us would be old news and we can try to go back to a normal life."

"What?!" Yugi felt emotion finally from this entire engagement and stood up, "Investigate Atemu?! Why? He has nothing to do with this!"

"Enough!" His father spat, "He has EVERYTHING to do with this! Because of your little show they are prodding and investigating us…if they pull up something else, we could lose everything! Unless we get something on him, anything, we won't be able to stop this. We are NOT losing our jobs over your disgusting hook ups. I can't believe you're even my son…! I did not raise you to be this way"

"You didn't raise me at all!" Yugi snapped his body shaking from the rage he was feeling, "Grandpa did! You leave Atemu alone, I'm warning you!"

"Or what?" His dad questioned folding his arms as Yugi grit his teeth.

" I will reveal that video…and you WILL lose your job!" Yugi shouted causing both his parents expressions to change from anger to concern quickly, "Yea it's funny what security cameras pick up…disown me all you want, but I doubt you'd want that to be revealed to the public."

"You're bluffing…" His father stated as Yugi grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Please…Ichiro…Yugi, please. Minako…don't do this" Sugoroku begged, "Don't disown Yugi…we'll work this out…He's just upset, we all are…let's just think about this…"

"Grandpa don't," Yugi looked over at his grandfather who had a saddened expression before back to his father, "Take that risk, I dare you."

"It seems you've picked up that nasty attitude from your whore of a boyfriend, eh? I see the way he duels on T.V: cold, calculating and aggressive…he may be the center of attention right now, but he'll be a washed up has been in no time" His father said when stormed up to him in complete rage. His father raised his fist and struck Yugi in the face as hard as he could. Minako and Sugoroku panicked as Yugi hit the floor but Ichiro didn't even flinch as he straightened up and readjusted his cheap suit.

Sugoroku tried to help Yugi up but he slapped his grandfather's hand away and got to his feet himself, clutching his face where his father had struck him. He was shocked.

"Ichiro…honey…that wasn't necessary…" Minako stated looking at her son and back to her husband, "Look, it's just been a stressful day…dad's right, let's just think about this…"

Yugi ran out of the room before Sugoroku could stop him and slammed the front door on his way out. Sugoroku turned to his daughter and son in law with a stern expression.

"Get out." Sugoroku breathed heavily as Minako looked shocked.

"Father look we-" she began but Sugoroku simply pointed at the door. Ichiro glared and Minako began to tear up as both of them left out the side door opposite to where Yugi did.

* * *

"Geez took you long enough…" Bakura stated, not facing Atemu as he staggered into the living room, "What, you had to make out with the kid before dropping him off?"

After a few moments passed, Bakura glanced over and saw Atemu slump into the chair closest to the kitchen with a clear bottle in his hand. He raised an eyebrow before continuing, "Rough night?"

"You could say that" Atemu said leaning back in the chair looking at the ceiling before laughing slightly.

"How much did you drink?" Bakura stood up snatching the bottle out of Atemu's hand before he could react, "Wow…you are so plowed"

"I am about three more sips before plowed I'll have you know…" Atemu glared extending his hand out towards the bottle, "I would like to be plowed please"

Bakura reached out his hand and cupped Atemu's chin with it pulling his face in close to the Egyptian man, "That could be arranged…" he smirked as Atemu narrowed his eyes, "I heard this is the way you swing anyway"

"You couldn't handle me, even when I'm drunk" Atemu smirked back before slapping Bakura's hand away and snatching the bottle with his free hand, "and who said I swung any which way?"

"Oh…everyone now," Bakura gestured back towards the television behind him, "Seems you're just the talk of the town right now."

"I thought I at least had a few more days…" Atemu frowned as Bakura sat down on the couch. "Given I'm facing the Unit…Unitated…whatever, American duelist champion on the weekend…isn't that more interesting to them? Dueling? That's what I do for those damn monkeys isn't it?"

Bakura snorted before snatching the bottle back and taking a long drink, "Isn't the champion like…five years old? Going to beat on little girls now?"

"Twelve actually, I have an age limit you know" Atemu chuckled as he took the bottle back and drank a little more. Atemu let out a sigh as Bakura seemed to enjoy every second of this conversation.

"So did you tell the little man about your engagement?" Bakura questioned readjusting himself before taking the bottle out of an angry Atemu's hand "You are plowed now, I don't need you puking."

"Yes…" Atemu rubbed his temples before re-adjusting in his seat to sit more forward, "failed to tell him I get married in two weeks."

"Ouch." Bakura finished off the bottle in a couple gulps as Atemu sighed. "That soon? Thought you had a year you said"

"oh you know, daddy got a little pissy over my display the other day…" Atemu laughed, "Seems I really caused problems for him"

"That's what you wanted isn't it? A little bit of a rebellion for a change?" Bakura questioned as he migrated into the kitchen to get something else to drink.

"No…I wanted more time…" Atemu sighed deeply before rubbing his face with his hands.

"I think you need to be a little more than plowed" Bakura stated as he reached around the kitchen opening to hand Atemu a glass of clear liquid, "It's vodka"

"Don't really care" Atemu grabbed it and took a long drink, feeling the intensity of the alcohol hitting him at this point burning down his throat as it continued to damper his senses.

"Good." Bakura smirked as he entered the living room and sat back on the couch. "Figure out a way to get around it yet?"

"Going to hide in Alaska" Atemu said with a complete straight face which made Bakura unleash a mighty laugh.

"Dude, what would you do in Alaska?" Bakura managed to slip in a question in between his gasps of laughter.

"I dunno…become Alaska's champion" Atemu shrugged, his gestures a lot more loose and his words began to jumble together in almost a slur at this point. Bakura was right, he was well beyond plowed at this point.

"..You can only become a countries champion," Bakura stated and laughed when he saw Atemu's confused expression, "Alaska isn't a country! It's part of the United States…you know, where the little five year old you're beating this weekend is from"

"Twelve, she's twelve!" Atemu corrected in a stern but awkward way, "When did you get so…smart?"

"Well first of all, I'm not plowed" Bakura said with a laugh. The two laughed as they continued to finish their drinks. Atemu still didn't know much about the white haired roommate, only that he was studying history and his last roommate thought he was crazy. Atemu somehow remembered the first day he met Bakura, answering his roommate ad. The old roommate wasn't even moved out before Atemu came to the door, and the individual ran out past him suitcase and all. Yet, Atemu never saw any side of Bakura that made him want to run for the hills and often wondered what caused it.

Atemu could remember vaguely what the roommate looked like, long white hair styled similarly to Bakura's but more tame. He looked angry when he left and Bakura never said anything about it only led him to his room. It might've been the alcohol talking and kicking in the back of his mind, but Atemu really wanted to know.

"…Bakura," Atemu switched his expression to serious as he looked at his roommate who only smirked, "That roommate…said you were crazy when I first came…who was he?"

Bakura's expression went from enjoying Atemu's company, to barely tolerating him as his eyes narrowed and he stood up.

"I am nowhere near your state to answer that," Bakura stated pushing Atemu's head aside playfully as he walked back into the kitchen. Atemu was about to apologize when he could hear Bakura pouring another glass and realized he only got up to drink.

Atemu's eyes instantly fixated past the kitchen towards the apartment door when he heard a soft knock. His body tensed instantly, praying it wasn't who he thought it was. He did say he'd come after his duel tournament on the weekend but his word was never an honest one. Atemu hated that about his father, that he demanded honesty and accuracy yet never gave it in return.

Bakura laughed as Atemu stumbled past him and towards the front door.

"You really sure you want your precious new soon to be bride to see you hammered?" Bakura asked as Atemu stopped at the entrance to the hallway connecting to the front door. Atemu looked over his shoulder and gave a small smirk.

"Maybe she'll be more attractive to me this way" Atemu stated before continuing to the front door as Bakura drank half his glass of vodka in one go.

"Yea, like you'd instantly hop over to that side while drunk…" Bakura said as he slammed his glass down and peered into it, "If only it were that easy…"

Atemu swung open the door and placed his right hand up into the crack of the open door in a slouched but inviting position. He figured they'd notice he was drunk the second they could smell it off him and decided to have a little fun with it. Show his future wife him and all his glory, maybe she'd decide against the arrangement.

Atemu blinked. He didn't realize it was raining outside though stumbling home drunk he really didn't pay that much attention to the weather around him. He fixated, swallowing hard a lump forming in his throat. Messy, wet hair from obviously being in the rain far too long but it folded along the curves almost like it was styled that way. Unruly and sexy is the only two words he could think about as he stared, looking up and down. He sighed deeply, what a time to show up.

"Yugi" Atemu tried to say as calmly as possible, "How do you always manage to get in?"

"Seems I'm liked here…" Yugi stated not moving from the doorway to come in looking up at Atemu. Atemu let out a chuckle before narrowing his eyes, letting go of his position against the door.

"Listen…" Atemu began trying to coherently put together a sentence in his head that didn't sound awful, "There's something I need to-"

Atemu's expression changed instantly, knowing full well there was no way he was hiding his intoxicated state at this point. Soft with a hint of wet most likely from the rain, lips were instantly pressed against his and his head brought down by a firm hand against his neck.

Atemu couldn't help but feel a strong intensity build up under his skin at Yugi's touch. He enjoyed the unruly look of a rained out Yugi, and definitely approved of the aggressive nature. Atemu sunk into the kiss as it caught him off guard and off balance but Yugi seemed to brace him up. Atemu couldn't help but wonder why the sudden change of demeanor until his brain went clouded and he couldn't think anymore.

Atemu roughly grabbed the sides of Yugi's hips, pushing forward intensifying the kiss. After several moments he slipped back gently and gave Yugi a mischievous look.

"I don't want to talk" Yugi managed to let out before focusing his violet eyes on crimson. Atemu smirked.

"Good, because I'm in no state to talk" Atemu replied instantly melting into the eyes he couldn't look away from or resist anymore.

* * *

**Chapter 7 end. **

**AN: Soooo you never learn much about Yugi's mom or father in the series. Heck you don't even learn their names! So I improvised, picking Japanese names that would suit their personalities in this series. A couple cameos in this one as well, can you guess who they were? **

**It was hard to write Atemu drunk, as he's a pretty composed individual that even drunk I feel he wouldn't be too off base just more intense. Well, hope you all enjoyed it anyway! Again this will be updated at least once a week again, sorry for the delay/gap between updates! **


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: This is a long story so I figured updating several times a week will be the only way to get through it without all of you having to wait decades for it to be done! Also please do not engage with the troll who commented, the individual does that to many other authors and is only looking for a retaliation! I thank you guest who told them off but it's really not necessary as the individual gets a rise out of having people respond to him/her. **

**This chapter was very emotional for me to write, I'll explain in the AN comments at the end why **

**Chapter 8**

The water rolled down down his skin, hitting every curve of his back until it finally fell to the floor below. Morning showers were still not a favourite pass time for Atemu, but he felt no alternative of getting the stink of alcohol off his body. He was shocked that he didn't get a hangover from it, given he drank a 40 oz of vodka practically to himself and definitely didn't chase it with water.

Atemu wrapped a towel around his waist as he exited the shower and proceeded to walk back to his room. His expression softened as he saw that Yugi was still fast asleep curled up in his bed and unaware of the world around him. He thought about the evening prior, how Yugi ended up on his doorstep dripping wet and not wanting to discuss anything. It may have been the alcohol talking at the time but never in his life had he had such a deep desire to go all the way with someone before.

Yugi was aggressive and forceful afterwards, wrestling with Atemu to gain dominancy during their make out session. It made Atemu's heart beat incredibly fast with anticipation and urge to take Yugi right there. Sometime during the session though Yugi's eyes looked exhausted, and despite much protest within his mind, Atemu put him to bed rather than engage further.

Atemu would've regretted his actions if he didn't wake up several times in the night to Yugi crying, scared that it was something he did. He couldn't understand Yugi, couldn't read any of his actions and nothing came to mind for why he was so upset. Atemu thought that it might be that he somehow knew about his upcoming hasty nuptials but couldn't think of how he possibly could know as Atemu only found out last night. It was a mystery, and Yugi wasn't talking about it.

Atemu heard the buzzing of the phone beside him on the dresser breaking him out of his thought process. He saw his own phone on the far desk so knew that it had to have been Yugi's phone going off. He looked at the phone and saw seven missed calls from 'Jounouchi' and also who currently the one calling was.

"Hello Jounouchi" Atemu answered the phone, closing the door behind him gently as to not wake the sleeping Yugi.

"Wait uh…Yug?" Jounouchi questioned on the other side of the phone, "Your voice doesn't sound right…"

"It's not Yugi," Atemu stated and realized Jounouchi would probably think his phone was stolen, "It's Atemu, Yugi's asleep"

Atemu could hear the loud sigh on the other end of the phone, probably the last person Jounouchi wanted to talk to right now. However, there was no way that Atemu was passing the phone off to Yugi or waking him up given his state throughout the yesterday evening. Took him forever the last time Yugi woke up to get him to sleep again.

"…is he okay?" Jounouchi finally asked after a long pause in the conversation. "Is he still hurt?"

"Hurt? What's going on Jounouchi?" Atemu asked his expression changing to confusion as Yugi had said nothing about hurt or pain last night.

"…Yug didn't tell you did he?" Jounouchi sighed, "His grandfather called me really early this morning…thought maybe he was here. Frankly, I'm shocked he didn't come here"

Atemu knew how close Jounouchi and Yugi seemed, and it probably was a kick in the gut for Jou that Yugi didn't go there. Atemu quickly tried to find a way to make him feel better.

"My place is closer right? It was raining pretty hard, probably didn't want to get sick" Atemu quickly replied and smiled when he heard a sigh of relief on the other end, "Again…what's going on?"

"Don't tell Yug I told you…I'm not sure if he'd want you to know…" Jounouchi began Atemu frowning at how easy it was to get the boy to leak information about his best friend, "His parents showed up after two years of not seeing him last night because…well because of you. I guess they are getting a lot of heat from the media doing digging into their lives and took it out on Yugi… they found out Yugi's grandfather is financially struggling and…I mean…"

Atemu's stomach turned and he felt sick all of sudden. He vaguely remembered Bakura mentioning the media was blowing up about him but never thought they had already dug into Yugi's life. He gripped the phone tightly in anger, hating himself for not figuring things out sooner.

"…There's another thing…" Jounouchi continued, "Yugi…his parents…they are looking to disown him. I know that…I know that Yugi doesn't get along with them but…disowning them…all because of you, and how your…whatever you're calling it, has blown up in the media. But Yug…they have never gone that far before…and well, I'm worried about Yugi…not only that but his grandfather said his dad even struck him!"

"Where is Yugi's parents right now?" Atemu questioned his tone changing to anger and it was more done in a demand then a request.

"Uh-Well…" Jounouchi stuttered and could hear the heavy breathing through the line, "Some guys in suits showed up and they left with them…Yugi's grandfather hasn't seen them since."

Atemu's arm trembled with a boiling hot rage he had never felt before. His mind going blank and all he could picture was the anger he felt.

"Atemu?" Jounouchi asked when he heard silence come from the other end of the line. "Look you're not…you're not the only one at fault here…Yugi's grandfather he…and Yugi took out a loan a few months ago to help me pay for…why am I telling you all of this?"

"Tell me, Jounouchi." Atemu demanded before taking a breath, "please."

"…My sister needed eye surgery… I didn't have the money so Yugi and his grandfather helped…" Jounouchi sighed and Atemu could hear his voice tremble, "They are in financial trouble…because of me…It's not…it was wrong of me to say it was your fault…it's not…it's mine. If I didn't cost Yugi and his grandfather so much money, then his parents wouldn't have got so mad…"

"Listen to me right now Jounouchi," Atemu snapped, "You are not responsible for this. Don't start the pity party because I'm not going to listen to it. I got Yugi into this mess, I'll get him out. You have my word"

Jounouchi went quiet for a moment only aiding to Atemu's frustration with the kid. Trying to blame himself and drag himself into it, frustrated Atemu immensely. The only one at fault for dragging this out was him, and him alone.

"Thanks Atemu…" Jounouchi finally replied causing Atemu to become shocked, "So…what do we do?"

"You're going to go to Yugi's grandfather's shop and make sure he's okay" Atemu ordered in a very monotone voice, "I'm going to get Yugi out of the city for a while. Hopefully his parents will leave when they have no one to beat on for a while until I can figure out a way to fix that."

"Where will you go?" Jounouchi questioned desperately, "Yugi's parents could be figuring out where you live and on their way right now!"

"I have a tournament in Tokyo," Atemu stated and heard an "oh" on the other side of the phone. "I'll keep Yugi with me, until I can get things together."

"What are you going to do?" Jounouchi asked.

"You'll see but it'll at least fix half the problem" Atemu stated, "Go to his grandfathers, and text when you get there."

"R-Right! You got it!" Jounouchi agreed, "I'll go right now!"

Atemu hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment. He sighed deeply. He was determined to get Yugi out of this and fix everything at least on his end. He looked back at his bedroom door. At least if he could fix Yugi's life before he got married, he wouldn't be any worse off without him there. For the first time in Atemu's life he felt selfish. Because of his desire to not be married, he pursued Yugi only to drag Yugi down with him. He would not make that mistake again.

His eyes snapped to the door handle when he could hear rustling coming from his bedroom. He proceeded to open it. He leaned against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest and Yugi's phone still in his right hand.

"Going somewhere?" Atemu asked as Yugi's gaze snapped up towards the older man. Yugi was already fully dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed. Atemu raised an eyebrow when he saw Yugi look back down. "Did you overhear much?"

"Only a bit…I'm sorry…" Yugi said closing his eyes, "I-I shouldn't have come…this isn't your fault, or Jounouchi's…it's mine. I'll handle it…okay? So just stay out of it…I'm…I'm embarrassed enough that you saw me cry for the second time…"

"If we count every time you woke up last night…I'd say we're up to about five times now," Atemu stated as he shut his door behind him. Yugi's face went hot as he looked away.

"Ah…I'm sorry!" Yugi shook his head and stood up quickly, "I'm sorry…about everything!"

Yugi looked around and it all started to sink in. He was in his idols bedroom, had just slept in his bed and here he stood in the doorway with nothing but a towel on in front of him. Yugi's face must've at least been four shades of red by this point. He looked up to Atemu as he heard a chuckle come from him.

"Relax Yugi…" Atemu stated walking up to him so he was only a few feet away.

"I just…" Yugi looked down at the ground and fidgeted. His demeanor back to his regular shy self. Atemu was happy to see Yugi slowly getting back to himself again, but couldn't help but miss the aggressive Yugi from last night.

"Come to Tokyo with me." Atemu stated bluntly causing Yugi to look up in surprise.

"W-What?" Yugi questioned quickly.

"You know what's going on there this weekend right?" Atemu asked as Yugi's head nodded rapidly.

"Y-Yes! You're facing the American world champion!" Yugi said excitedly before shaking his head, "But…I can't afford a trip like that and I….I should go back home…"

Yugi looked down at the ground again, home being the last place he wanted to return too. He knew he needed to face the music eventually though.

"They send a car for me that's too big for me alone," Atemu continued almost as if he ignored Yugi's hesitation, "It's not an extra cost unless you count the hotel room…but if you're in my room, then there's no extra cost anyway"

Yugi's face went beat red. "Y-You're room?!" Yugi shook his head rapidly, "No…! That's okay Atemu I"

Atemu reached out and placed a hand on the side of Yugi's cheek. Yugi instantly relaxed as he felt the warm tan skin against his pale cheek. He couldn't believe how easy it was for Atemu to calm him by such a light touch or a light kiss. Yugi couldn't help but think about last night, and how forward he was being. He wasn't sure what it was inside of him that made him suddenly do that but he still felt embarrassed by it. His mind shifted to the fact Atemu was still standing there in only a bath robe and his face went dark red again. Atemu slowly pulled his hand away from Yugi's cheek when he realized Yugi had relaxed.

"We're going to Tokyo today. Car always picks me up a day before my tournament." He turned around towards his dresser, "We're about the same size so you can borrow some of my clothes."

"No No I couldn't do that…" Yugi said stepping forward, "What if I damage them? Or lose them?"

Yugi frowned when Atemu let out a chuckle and looked at him over his shoulder.

"Either you wear mine, or I buy you clothes for the weekend…your choice" Atemu asked as Yugi looked shocked but within seconds before he could answer, "Well I guess we'll be taking you shopping in Tokyo!"

"Wait, no!" Yugi pleaded but Atemu already started to pack his suit case, "Your clothes are fine"

"Too late" Atemu stated as he packed at lightning speed and looked over at Yugi and winked, "You had your chance"

"Atemu please..!" Yugi begged.

"Mind leaving the room for a moment?" Atemu asked.

"What? No Atemu you don't…" Yugi began to try and plead with the Egyptian man as Atemu laughed.

"So you want to watch me change?" Atemu questioned, straightening up and folding his arms across his chest, "I kind of like the idea of you watching!"

An embarrassed Yugi quickly shook his head and left the room as Atemu chuckled. Atemu watched as Yugi shut the door and looked back at his dresser. He grinned again. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be a little bit selfish this weekend too, for the last time.

**Chapter 8 end.**

**AN: I sort of relate to Atemu in this chapter a bit. I'm trying really hard not to make them too out of character, and Atemu within the show definitely showed signs of protectiveness over Yugi. I had a friend whose father struck her and all I could feel was anger and hatred for him. How he could strike his own daughter and proudly feel so was sickening to experience. I wonder what Atemu's plan is to help the situation and if we'll see that aggressive Yugi again any time soon. **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Update! Whew! So the next two chapters are kind of shorter then all my other chapters. I originally had them as one chapter but it was too much of a context switch that it made sense. This part sheds some light on a couple scenarios not explained enough previously as there just wasn't enough space/opportunity to do so. Kind of like a "where do I put this if not here" chapter!**

**Chapter 9**

Whisky stones clacked against the glass caused by the swirling flick of the wrist. Yugi's parents sat there quietly in awe of the individual sitting before them. He was tall, well-groomed in a very expensive black suit, with black hair and bronze skin. His eyes were crimson that could peirce through your soul with just one look. He intimidated them.

Beside him sat a woman, about average height with dark crimson coloured hair, brown eyes and bronze skin. She wore a silk scarf covering most of her hair along with dark robes covering her body. Her eyes looked gentle but were narrowed as they seemed to look the two up and down. The only other one in the car was a petite slender girl, dark medium brown hair and green eyes. She had bronze coloured skin and was wearing an off white skirt and top with gold trim and jewellery.

Yugi's father Ichiro began to get irritated as none of them were saying anything just staring at them. He began to fidget before regaining his composure and sighing.

"You said you could help us?" Ichiro questioned with a frown. "Help us how?"

"It seems my son has been causing problems for the both of us" The suited gentlemen finally spoke up taking a sip out of his whisky glass.

"Your son?" Minako perked up before receiving a very stern look from the other gentlemen.

"I was talking to your husband." The man stated, silencing Minako on the spot. She left her mouth open to reply but the woman in black shook her head indicating she shouldn't. "Atemu Sennen. I'm sure you know who I speak of. My name is Akhenam, his father"

"Yes. Thanks to him, reporters have been investigating into our lives and trying to dig up any dirt possible on our family…" Ichiro clenched his fists, "It's nearly costing us our jobs."

"I am well aware of your situation." Akhenam continued. "Criminal activities you don't want to surface as they would cost you and your wife your job…a few involving your son Yugi, as one of the main victims."

"H-How do you know about that?!" Ichiro spat his hands shaking with anger, "Even the media hasn't found that out yet!"

"Let's just say that Atemu's status is highly irrelevant to me and that his money pales in comparison." Akhenam stated taking another sip from his glass, "But it's only a matter of time before the media gets ahold of that information also"

Ichiro looked down, still trembling with anger and a bit of fear. Minako and himself had worked so hard to move up the ladder in the company and now are considered top business class. They get invited to parties and meet rich and powerful people from across the globe. The realization that all this could be lost because of his son sunk in and he gritted his teeth. He mentally felt he should've hit his son harder.

"But I did say I would help" Akhenam continued smirking at Ichiro's angered expression, "And I am a man of my word."

"Why would you help us?" Ichiro looked back up adjusting his hair so that it slicked back again.

"We have a common frustration…our disappointing son" Akhenam narrowed his eyes causing the wrinkles on his forehead to become deeper, "And like you, cannot have this behavior continue."

Ichiro looked between Akhenam and the woman beside him, most likely his wife. He could see faint resemblances in them compared to Atemu from what he saw of their son on television. One of the only pieces of backstory for Atemu was that he was from Egypt and most likely Arabic based on the colour of skin and origin. Ichiro realized that having a homosexual son would probably be causing them just as much grief as the media being so interested in them and Yugi.

"I see your point." Ichiro nodded.

"Good. You are a smart man, I didn't think I needed to explain myself further." Akhenam said, "We have information about Atemu that'll end this connection with him and your son for good. All we need is the media to get ahold of it and not only with the heat be off your family, but Yugi's name alone will be forgotten quickly."

"Why not go to the media yourself?" Ichiro asked as Akhenam narrowed his eyes.

"Tipping off the media may lead them into our lives which cannot happen. I have been able to keep this behavior quiet in my homeland, but it's only a matter of time before my influences fail." Akhenam stated, "I need someone outside of our influences to tip them off…do this, and all the media will forget about your family."

"…What if you're wrong, what if they continue to dig because they want to create something further from Yugi?" Ichiro shook his head, "We absolutely cannot have our records go public. At no cost."

"Neither can we. So I will have your records cleaned" Akhenam smirked as Ichiro and Minako looked shocked, "I have my ways, but you will get a guarantee and a little something for your trouble."

Akhenam looked at the woman in black beside him and nodded as she handed Ichiro an eight and a half by eleven envelope.

"Inside you will find details about Atemu I'd like to be made public, as well as some cash and a guarantee that after you did this your records will be cleaned." Akhenam nodded, "It must go public enough that it hits national news so that eventually it'll hit world news. Can you do this?"

"I know just the man." Ichiro smiled, "Industrial Illusions has been trying to knock out Kaiba Corporation for awhile…Seto Kaiba is a good friend of my son, so to see my son suffer will make Seto suffer. I'll guarantee you he will make it world news"

"Excellent. I knew I could count on you" Akhenam said before knocking on the window behind him. Shortly after the car stopped and a suited man came around the side and opened the door.

Ichiro opened the envelope and read about Atemu's situation. His eyes went wide as he looked over at the slender shorter girl not in traditional garb.

"Thank you for helping us" She smiled and giggled as Akhenam pointed to the opened car door. Ichiro and Minako nodded and just as they stepped out of the limo, it drove away at lightning speed. Minako sighed and looked at Ichiro.

"Are you sure we should do this? Yugi will be miserable…" Minako looked down as Ichiro lifted her head to face him again.

"He is lucky that's all he'll be" Ichiro said coldly making Minako wince. He roughly grabbed her hand and led her towards a taxi cab that was parked a short distance away.

**Chapter 9 end.**

**AN: gah sorry about the boring chapter! This was originally two in one but it didn't flow quite right and skipped too much for it to connect easily so I divided it into two chapters. Chapter 10 will be up tomorrow, so we'll be back on track with the main story! **

**So we get a little bit of information on Yugi's parents and Atemu's but still not too much. Shrouded in mystery they are! Eventually everything will come together, we're just not at the climax of the story yet so can't give it all away. **


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: So the last chapter was a bit more inside information on the parents of our main characters. The big thing I want to point out before we continue is my use of description. Last chapter was told from the perspective of Ichiro, any comments or connections were done around his character. Not everyone sees people freely, some people see based on stereotypes. When perspectives shift I try to think like that character would in that scenario and write it that way. It's why Atemu has a protective streak, or why Yugi is more timid, etc when it switches to their point of view. There won't be too many more times where we veer from the Yugi or Atemu frame of mind, but hopefully it's starting to shed light on just how those others think, act and react.**

**Chapter 10**

Yugi watched as the trees suddenly became fewer and fewer as the car got them closer to Tokyo. Having only ever been in Tokyo once before, Yugi couldn't help but feel excited. It was hard to put aside everything that had happened the last couple of days especially since he had to go home and face it all eventually.

Jounouchi had sent a text to Yugi moments before getting in the limo that seemed to relieve some of his stress. That his grandfather wasn't upset with him and that he was okay. His grandfather's opinion of him was the only thing from that night that mattered and he felt relieved to hear it was still positive.

Yugi glanced over beside him to see that Atemu was leaning against the other door fast asleep. Yugi couldn't help but feel partially responsible for the other man's lack of sleep, given Yugi must've woke him up in the middle of the night multiple times. He would probably be just as tired too if he wasn't so excited. His stomach fluttered and his heart raced the closer they got to Tokyo. Besides the tournament later today it would just be the two of them all weekend. Just the two of them: all alone with his idol. Yugi smiled at the sleeping Atemu before returning his gaze to look out the window.

* * *

"Checking in, Atemu Sennen" Atemu stated to the receptionist at the front desk of the hotel. It was one of the largest hotels on Tokyo with over 30 floors and a penthouse on the upper-most floor. Atemu leaned against the counter with a smirk on his face when he saw the receptionist's reaction.

"Y-You're the duelist world champion!" She exclaimed, "It's such an honor to meet you sir! I heard from my co-workers you've stayed here before, but I was never working and couldn't get to see you…I mean meet you ah I'm rambling I'm sorry…!"

"That's alright." Atemu smiled as he took the room cards from her shaking hands, "This is my favourite hotel to stay in Tokyo."

"T-Thank you sir!" She gleefully replied before peering around him to see Yugi there, "Oh my! Is this, Yugi Mutou?!"

Atemu sighed loudly, figuring she had heard the news already about their current situation. He opened his mouth to answer but Yugi stepped up.

"Wow it's been a long time Vivian!" Yugi smiled as she squealed and ran around the counter to give Yugi a tight hug. Atemu raised an eyebrow at the scenario in front of him as Yugi turned to look at him and smiled sheepishly. Atemu's eyes went wide and he could feel something inside of him. He looked away from Yugi and coughed to try and refocus himself.

Yugi let go and scratched the back of his head. "You look well!"

"You too!" Vivian chuckled before turning to Atemu, "Wow, I can't believe you two know each other! And I'm seeing you both at the same time; this is the best day ever!"

"How do you know Yugi?" Atemu asked bluntly causing Yugi to look over at him in shock. Was Atemu jealous?

"Oh he used to come to dueling tournaments in Tokyo! He didn't tell you?" Vivian looked surprised between the two before continuing, "When we met you came with the regional champion Seto Kaiba? Well, regional now…am I right Yugi?"

"Yea…" Yugi looked down at the floor before over to Atemu, "This is where I beat Seto and won the regional championship…"

Atemu narrowed his eyes before turning to Vivian, "So we're in the suite again?"

"Oh! No sir! You're in the penthouse this time. My manager insisted" Vivian nodded smiling between the two, "On the upper floor, it's the only room so your keycard will open the elevator door too it. Have fun you two! Totally jealous you get to spend a weekend together…Yugi always turned down my requests to come stay with me"

"Sorry Vivian…" Yugi chuckled, "But thank you! Hope I'll see you again sometime"

"Likewise!" She said.

"Ms. Wong, you need to get back to the desk" One of the other hotel staff said before she nodded and waved goodbye. Yugi and Atemu walked in silence to the elevator. Yugi looked at Atemu and he didn't look upset but he also wasn't saying a word. Yugi coughed and Atemu didn't even look in his direction. Yugi couldn't help but pout.

"Vivian is…spirited" Yugi finally broke the silence, "I haven't seen her in years"

"I never heard your name as regional champion before" Atemu stated as if Yugi hadn't said anything at all. Yugi sighed deeply before continuing.

"Vivian means well…I just, well…I haven't been all that interested in girls that's all" Yugi shook his head, "She's just a friend, and I'm surprised she even recognized me…"

"Your affair with others is none of my concern" Atemu said as he swiped the keycard to get off the elevator. Yugi stared after him in shock. He thought for sure Atemu had been jealous over the interaction and that was why he got the silent treatment. It made Yugi's chest tight to hear Atemu dismiss the matter so casually as if it truly had nothing to do with him. "Coming in or are you going to hold the elevator on this floor all day?"

"Oh uh…sorry!" Yugi said before walking out of the elevator not realizing he had been standing there in thought for a good five minutes. Atemu wasn't looking at him but staring out the windowpane at the city of Tokyo. Tall towers, lights and millions of people bustling about in the city below is what could be seen from their room.

"I…didn't want the attention," Yugi continued finally answering Atemu from before as he stepped up beside him also looking at the city, "I wanted to beat Seto for humiliating my grandfather…I didn't want everyone's eyes on me"

"I guess we're different that way" Atemu said his voice much more relaxed than before, "I want everyone's eyes on me, while they watch me destroy them"

Yugi looked at Atemu who had a smile on his face and let out a laugh. "No beating anyone in the shadows eh?"

"Well that's fun too…" Atemu nodded before returning his gaze out the window, "But for now, I want to be seen"

"And I want to be invisible…" Yugi added, "Or at least…I did"

"Did?" Atemu turned to look at Yugi, "What changed?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt Mr. Sennen, but your duel starts soon and you should head over now" A man said from behind them. Atemu turned around and nodded before looking at Yugi.

"I guess we will have to get you clothes after the match" Atemu smirked as Yugi looked frazzled.

"No I told you that's fine!" Yugi shook his hands in front of his face, "Besides, your match may take a while"

"I'm making it short and sweet. I have other things to do," Atemu winked before walking back towards the elevator where the man was standing. Yugi's face was red as he quickly ran after Atemu to catch up. Yugi cursed at how easy it was for Atemu to get him all bent out of shape and wished he could be as composed as the dueling idol.

* * *

Yugi swallowed the lump forming in his throat hard, and his hands shook on his lap. He was front row and center watching Atemu duel his challenger match. It was his dream to see a live match session with Atemu but due to finances never was able to go. Now not only was he able to watch, but he was sitting directly behind Atemu. He could see his cards clearly from where he was and watched as Atemu unfolded a new strategy.

The challenger was Rebecca, America's top level duelist and prodigy at age twelve. She was quick to sacrifice her monsters and didn't seem to have much of a strategy until she unveiled Shadow Ghoul. It was a card that grew stronger with each monster that went into the graveyard and ended up being more powerful than Atemu's strongest card that he summoned, Black Magician of Chaos.

Yugi was at the edge of his seat not knowing if the match would be won or not by Atemu. He had never seen his idol lose nor at the same time had he ever seen Shadow Ghoul played so well. It was literally anyone's game at this point and Yugi couldn't help but sit up instinctively as Atemu started to form his strategy.

Almost as if he heard him, Atemu turned and looked at Yugi with a giant grin on his face. Yugi's eyes went wide as he realized Atemu was staring right at him. He glanced to the side to see those sitting around him look at him with confusion, anger or shock and couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Did he think that Yugi wasn't watching maybe? Yugi wasn't sure but Atemu seemed to look away shortly after that.

Yugi could no longer see what was in Atemu's hand as he strategically positioned his body in the way. Pouting, Yugi realized that Atemu was only verifying if Yugi could see his cards and seemed to want to surprise him. Yugi wasn't the only irritated one, as Rebecca seemed to grow tired of Atemu's stalling and smack talked the whole time.

'You got to win this…' Yugi thought as the match continued. Shadow Ghoul knocked out a few more of Atemu's defense monsters so that there was only Black Magician of Chaos left. Shadow Ghoul had a hundred less attack points then the magician, but she had a few cards face down that no one knew. Yugi anticipated they were monster sacrificing cards so that if Atemu were to attack, he'd end up killing his own monster.

As Atemu raised his arm to initiate the attack, Yugi couldn't help but stand up in fear. Yugi knew it had to have been a trap but it seemed like Atemu was ready to take that risk. Yugi called out to him but there was no way Atemu was able to hear him over the roaring crowd. Atemu ordered his magician to attack and Yugi looked away quickly not wanting to see what happens.

"Watch me" Yugi's eyes snapped open to the sound of Atemu's voice the entire crowd confused by what he said. Atemu had a mike on so that everyone could hear him, and over the loud speakers that is what he finally said. No context around it though which made the fans roar in confusion. Yugi however, turned to look at Atemu as the attack was unleashed. Yugi couldn't believe that Atemu was communicating with him in the middle of his match and felt bad he even had too. He had to support Atemu no matter what, even if he lost.

That wasn't going to be the case though. As Rebecca unleashed her monster sacrificing traps so did Atemu release a card called Soul Release. He had two of them on the field and both were able to be activated. They removed the monsters from her graveyard lowering her shadow ghoul's attack power and so Atemu was able to defeat it. Without any way to revive it and no more strategies to play, Rebecca forfeited the match naming Atemu the winner.

Yugi cheered as loud as he could, trying his best to yell over the crowd. Not only did he see Atemu's match, he got to see him win first hand. When Atemu turned to look at him again and give him a thumb up, Yugi couldn't help but feel fortunate. That despite everything happening so far, he got to experience this moment.

"I have a very important announcement to make!" Atemu stated over his mic causing the entire stadium full of people become quiet. Yugi blinked as Atemu leaned into his head set to continue. "It seems the media has been centered around me and I'd like to make something clear to all my fans out there. This challenger match was dedicated to someone today…"

The crowd seemed confused but intrigued on what he was about to say. Yugi couldn't help but get nervous.

"…this match is dedicated to my manager, Yugi Mutou!" Atemu announced causing the crowd to become riled up and shocked, "Without his grandfather's game shop in Domino, I would've never been able to get the cards I needed for this strategy. All future matches however, will need to be coordinated through my manager but I highly recommend any aspiring duelists out there to head to Domino city's Kame Game shop for their cards. It's where I get mine!"

Yugi couldn't believe what he was hearing. The crowd seemed to roar with excitement and cheers at the announcements the duel king had just made. Yugi sat down slowly staring at the ground with eyes unfocused. As he thought about everything that happened and the announcement today, tears welled up in his eyes. His eyes re focused to realize he was crying and he looked up at the duel king before him on the dueling arena. Atemu's gaze was soft, warming, as if someone was hugging him currently. There eyes met and all Yugi could think about was how lucky he was at this moment. That even though they were so far apart from each other in physical measurements, he had never felt closer to his idol.

Yugi couldn't help but think about the entire time that he has loved dueling, it was because he got to watch Atemu climb the ranks, overcome the odds and beat his opponents with strong and cunning tactics. That Atemu was his reason for getting into dueling and why he watched so many matches and played so many times. Now, he stood several feet in front of him on the dueling arena, gaze fixated on him out of all the thousands of people he could be looking at solving his problems instantly. Doing all of that with a grin on his face like it was his plan since the day he met.

Yugi smiled, wiped the tears from his eyes and returned Atemu's thumbs up. As he watched Atemu turn back around and wave to the crowd, Yugi felt a feeling inside he didn't think was possible to feel for someone else. That even though his friends and family were miles away, there was nowhere else in the entire world Yugi rather be at this moment.

* * *

**Chapter 10 end.**

**AN: This is why I couldn't merge the two. They are so different even in context and this one skips enough as it is (and more then I felt comfortable doing but there was a lot of "walking and scene descriptions" when there didn't need to be. Another couple cameos in this chapter too! I'm hoping to eventually include most of the Yugi cast and side cast in the story in one way or another. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Yugi looked at Atemu as he walked down the hallway towards him. He was waiting just before the common area of the stadium, underneath the large flat screen monitors. Currently the monitors were showing the local news and cast a blue glow down onto Yugi.

Yugi didn't know what to say to him. His hands fidgeted and his thoughts raced to coherently put together a few sentences to say. When he opened his mouth, nothing came out. Atemu grinned and chuckled in response to Yugi.

"Cat got your tongue?" Atemu questioned his eyes staring into Yugi's making him flustered, "She was quite the duelist. Shadow Ghoul…didn't expect her to pull that one out though it's a pretty weak monster initially, with the right strategy it-"

"Thank you so very much!" Yugi blurted out cutting Atemu off mid sentence and startling him slightly. Yugi bowed quickly as Atemu tilted his head to the side, "I…I…I'm trying to piece together something to say and it keeps jumbling up…"

"Just say what's in your heart?" Atemu asked as if questioning his own words, "Isn't that what they say?"

"I like you a lot!" Yugi shouted as he looked up at Atemu who looked extremely shocked. Yugi placed a hand over his mouth when he realized he had shouted at Atemu and shook his head. "I mean uh…I didn't mean to shout but…I…I want to thank you and…well you told me to speak from my heart…and I oh…uh…"

Yugi looked at Atemu intently but instead of looking at him, Atemu's gaze seemed focus on the television above him. Atemu's expression was dark and his teeth gritted. Yugi tried to look at what he was seeing but due to the angle he was standing underneath it, couldn't see anything. Yugi reached out for Atemu but he maneouvered around it, darting out the door behind him. Yugi sighed, not exactly the reaction he was hoping for and ran after him.

Atemu stood in the common area of the stadium, where an even bigger flat screen television hung over top a bar area. Unlike the other television, this one was hooked up to the sound system and you could hear everything on it clearly. Atemu's fists were clenched and his teeth still gritted as Yugi walked up beside him and looked at the monitors. He felt his heart sink.

_So it seems Domino News station got Atemu's situation all wrong! Today, Atemu Sennen announced that Yugi was his manager and not his lover! Furthermore, we were given information that Atemu is actually getting married next weekend! That's right folks! The young, single duel idol is in fact not single at all! His fiancée we have learned is Mana Ishtar, part of the Ishtar family who protect and keep historical artifacts in Cairo, Egypt. The Ishtar family is well respected throughout the world for bringing rare artifacts to museums in different countries. Many reports have come in that she's been spotted in Japan, at several different bridal shops and a ceremony building just outside of Domino. It looks like they'll be hosting their wedding right here in Japan! Wow, what news! Sorry ladies, this duel idol has been taken! _

Atemu looked down at Yugi who was staring at the program on the television. He sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose before placing a hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi jerked away and looked up at him with an angered expression.

"Let's head back to the room" Atemu instructed walking a few steps towards the stadium exit. Yugi followed him a few steps behind and neither one of them spoke the whole way back to the hotel.

* * *

Atemu sat down on the long chair in there hotel and stretched out. The chair was in similar design as you would find in a psychiatrist's therapy room and dark red in colour. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, a common reaction he did when he was truly fed up. Neither of them spoke, quietly making their way back without even a look towards each other. Atemu had won the match, but he wasn't happy.

Yugi watched him carefully. What they had heard today shocked him and he didn't know how to feel. He knew Atemu was getting married but not this soon. Judging by Atemu's reaction, he must've known everything which only confused Yugi further. Why bring him here? Why do everything for him when he knew what the outcome would be?

As he studied Atemu's face a realization formed in the pit of his stomach and surfaced almost as quickly. The feeling of butterflies is how most people referred to it as.

Atemu's head was in constant rapid thought, trying to come up with some solution to his now escalated problem. Not only that, but he now had to share a room with Yugi for another night. Atemu couldn't bring himself to even look at Yugi and kept his eyes closed as he sighed. More time is all he wanted to figure things out and it seemed like more time was not in his future.

Atemu's eyes snapped open as he felt pressure on his thighs. Yugi was now sitting on him facing parallel to where Atemu was facing, his eyes not looking at him. Atemu couldn't see Yugi's face behind his golden bangs.

"Yugi?" Atemu questioned before a sinking feeling set in. He didn't want to engage in conversation, didn't want to face the devastated look on Yugi's face, and wanted to end today without those moments. Being selfish for just one more day ended up costing him his soul, something he thought he had at least another couple of weeks to figure out.

"Do you have a nickname?" Yugi asked in a monotone way causing Atemu to become even more confused. Where was he going with this? Shouldn't he be yelling at him at this point, telling him to get out of his life for good?

"Uh…" Atemu took a long time to answer because he didn't know how to respond. He thought the truth might be the only way though in the end to go. "Duel king is the only one I know of."

"It doesn't suit you…" Yugi stated matter-of-factly. Atemu narrowed his eyes at this point, trying to sit up but Yugi applied more pressure to keep him down or at least, his legs down. Atemu sat up slightly on his left arm only managing to raise his torso up a bit to try and get a better look at Yugi. Yugi seemed to have a strategy with his current placement, as Atemu still couldn't see his face to gauge his reaction. Yugi was an enigma at the best of times for Atemu, so not being able to see his face only intrigued him further but in a more frustrated way then it normally did.

"Excuse me?" Atemu frowned, "I earned that title. It's as good of a nickname as any"

"Well…you're a lousy king so it's not a very good one" Yugi stated again with no tone and not facing Atemu. Atemu was beginning to get angry now, trying to squirm out from underneath Yugi to at least see his face as he got mad but still couldn't get out. For a shorter man, Yugi had him pinned pretty well.

"Getting straight to the insults…at least yell at me first" Atemu glared, not enjoying Yugi's obvious out lash at this point. Name calling seemed to be a common practice for people to do to those who have hurt them. Though it was his fault, he didn't care for that portion of a fight. It was like carving low blows because you can't formulate properly how your feelings should go. That you resort to such petty tactics: to try and bring them down even lower for hurting you. It almost felt like you were kicking them while they were down. An extra strike to make it seem like they never cared at all. Atemu hated when people did that.

When Yugi finally turned to face Atemu his expression was not what he predicted. Yugi's face was calm, relaxed with no signs of anger or frustration. Atemu's on the other hand was formed into a scowl and his dark crimson eyes were filled with anger. It started to soften as Yugi continued to look at him with the calm face he had on though.

"Good kings put their subjects before them…" Yugi continued not breaking eye contact, "…you put yourself before others."

"I put myself first this one time, I'd hardly call that a lousy king" Atemu said and his gaze switched to a shocked expression when Yugi chuckled after his comment. It took Atemu moments after to realize Yugi had led him down a trap and he fell right into it. Atemu was starting to see how he could easily beat the Japanese champion Seto Kaiba at this point, Yugi was clever.

"So you do care" Yugi said amongst his chuckles causing Atemu to sigh, "I knew it. You didn't answer me before so I had to be sure"

"What can you possibly gain from knowing this now?" Atemu leaned back against the sofa chair with his eyes closed but his face slightly scrunched up for playing so easily into Yugi's hands, "It won't change anything…"

"It changes everything." Yugi smiled before facing forward, closing his eyes then nodding in acknowledgement to his thought, "Yami."

"What?" Atemu opened his eyes again to look at Yugi who was looking at him again.

"That's my nickname for you." Yugi smiled as Atemu looked completely confused, "It means-"

"I know what it means" Atemu cut him off, "I don't understand it though."

"Spellcasters are your main monsters…but they are all dark monsters," Yugi smiled, "So when I watched, I couldn't help but think of why you used Dark monsters out of all the other elements. Earth monsters tend to have stronger attack power like Fire monsters, and light/water tends to have better special effects. But dark monsters were what you chose. I used to think you had a specific purpose for it, or some sort of hidden connection to dark especially."

"That's not really original of a nickname" Atemu raised an eyebrow causing Yugi to chuckle again.

"Maybe not…though duel king isn't all that great either" Yugi said as he looked back at Atemu.

"Fair enough," Atemu smirked, "Yami…hmm…"

"…it's my nickname for you, no one else's" Yugi answered, his gaze intensifying.

"Yugi look I-" Atemu closed his eyes to protest but felt Yugi's body shift weight. Atemu re-opened them to see Yugi's face just inches from him and felt his soft hands cup the sides of his face. For a moment Atemu felt relaxed as if he could dissolve into Yugi's hands.

"Let's just have this moment…while we both can still be selfish" Yugi smiled when Atemu's gaze softened and a smile came across his lips. "Yami."

Atemu accepted Yugi's lips against his releasing all the tension to hold him back before that moment. He did not anticipate this kind of end to their evening but he should've realized by now that Yugi was not predictable. Every step Atemu took to unravel him only ended up leading him further from himself, further from the answers he thought he knew. Every trap he laid to catch Yugi, Yugi evaded and sent him further from being able to prepare any sort of counter. He made him stumble, lose his composure and throw him off his game without much effort.

As it intensified, Yugi pressed up against Atemu firmly with his body, Atemu began to realize he was losing. Yugi was able to read him like a book, carefully placing words and gestures to lead him anywhere he needed to go. Without a second thought, Atemu was wrapped up in wanting to know him, be near him at all times and figure it out. These emotions were festering inside of him more and building up to the tip of his tongue. He felt his body tremble, his heart race before pushing Yugi up and off as he sat up quickly.

"Yugi…I'll say this once…" Atemu said as he moved his legs so they were now touching the ground and stared forward for a moment before looking at Yugi with an intense look, "I can't hold back this time. If I let go, nothing will stop me"

"Then let go" Yugi said as he placed his hand on top of Atemu's staring at him. Atemu looked over at Yugi's expression which was calm and direct. Atemu turned his body slightly and pulled Yugi backwards with him so he was re-situated on top of him. He stared into violet eyes for only a moment before pulling him against him. No longer surprised at what was happening in front of him and how he wanted to be with him.

The world suddenly felt so far away, lost between a mix of spice and mint. Breath intensified as tongues emerged, engulfing each other in sweet bliss. Each touch was rough and firm but captivating him closer with every movement, bringing this man further into his soul. His eyes were shut, not wanting to miss a moment by focusing on anything else. It was just them, entangled within each other's arms and legs, pressed up against each other, tasting all that they were.

Gentle and smooth glided across wet lips and firmly pressed just enough to say they were there. Within moments the gentle slowly faded and was replaced with a controlling rough sensation. As if the entire process was a test to see what was accepted and what was not, a game to figure out how to control the situation. Assuming the leadership role, knowing full well what the entailed only made Atemu's mind crave it further. The opportunity to just let himself go, and succumb to the minty tastes and soft skin.

But not this time. His body arched and pressed up against just enough to cause Yugi to lose his balance this sliding away from his face. As he gently slid to the left, Atemu moved to the right and roughly pinned the smaller man underneath him in a clever maneuver. During the process his legs became free and found their way to in between Yugi's. He slowly moved his right knee upwards, gliding on the smooth surface of the sofa chair easily. Yugi struggled to gain any sort of control or ability shift as his skin stuck temporarily to the cushion.

Atemu gently rocked his knee in an upwards motion and smirked when he heard a whimper escape Yugi's lips. He lowered his head so that he was against Yugi's face, his breath tickling his ear.

"King, remember?" Atemu whispered as he ran his tongue gradually across his ear.

"Yami…" Yugi mouthed.

That was a name he could get used to hearing. Yugi felt the skin against his cheek move and knew Atemu was smiling. Yugi led Atemu's face upwards with his shoulder slowly to look at the smile. Yugi melted under him as Atemu closed the distance between them.

* * *

**Chapter 11 end.**

**AN: Can't get all the fun out in one chapter right?! I hope I'm getting better at setting the pace. We're not even half way through yet !**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: ha, well had a bit of a situation so got delayed writing but here's Chapter 12! Thanks again for the support and your patience on this one!**

**Chapter 12**

Someday the dream will end. They both new this the moment Atemu mentioned he was getting married soon. They both new it and yet neither one of them wanted to stop, addicted to the other in a sense of twisted complicated arrangement.

Yugi was almost in a complete daze, thinking about the weekend he had rather than focusing on the lecture in front of him. Sometime in the middle of their session, Atemu got a phone call and that was it, reality had come back. Yugi was taken back to his house by limo leaving Atemu behind in Tokyo with barely any word or goodbye.

Yugi refocused on the lesson for only about another couple minutes after Professor Hopkins dimmed the lights and went back to deep in thought, chewing on his pencil.

Yugi was sure he'd see his parents when he ended up home but they weren't there, and his grandfather didn't know where they were. Thankfully they weren't, as Yugi was trying to deal with one situation at a time and probably would've lost it again.

_Is Atemu in class Yug? – Jou_

Yugi sighed and messaged his best friend back with a no. He saw the screen light up again indicating a response but didn't read it. Atemu was being forced into a marriage he obviously didn't want to be a part of, and Yugi couldn't do anything about it. Every time he re-thought about Atemu getting married it made his stomach turn and his face flushed with an overwhelming anger.

Yugi rubbed his forehead. How could he let himself sink so far into something? Was it because Yugi looked up to him for so long or was there really a solid chemistry here? Every time they dove deeper into each other, the more twisted their lives became and complicated.

* * *

Yugi sighed, looking at his green tea and slumping into his hand. Jounouchi sat across from him, insisting that they go out and discuss everything, only to be sitting in silence with each other. There was a television hanging behind Jou and all Yugi saw was the news talking about Atemu's last duel and upcoming marriage. His eyes blinked when it went to a live interview with Atemu and the woman he was going to marry. Yugi gritt his teeth and squeezed his cup tightly, feeling that familiar angry feeling.

Jou looked up behind him, sighed and stood up. "Switch seats with me,"

"It's fine Jou, really-"

"Switch seats with me" Jou repeated, narrowing his gaze at his best friend. Yugi sighed and switched seats, only to continue to squeeze his cup tighter.

"Talk to me Yug…" Jou frowned, "You can't just keep it all inside. It's going to mess you up,"

"What do I say?" Yugi questioned, side glaring at Jou who shook his head.

"How you feel" Jou reassured only causing Yugi to snort in derision. "We used to talk about stuff like this all the time…come on"

"I…really don't know what to say though," Yugi sighed, "I met my idol and my dreams came true…we've looked up to him for what? Years now? And I couldn't believe I would actually ever meet him, let alone talk to him. At first no one believed me, and then everyone warned me to stay away…including Atemu. But…I can't…I want to know more about him, I want to be around him…and when we're apart? I feel empty, that suddenly my life really isn't all that important. And now-"

Yugi tried so hard to fight back tears as he continued, "And now…he's getting married. At first I wasn't…so overwhelmed about it, because maybe my feelings were confused? Even if he marries at least we can be friends…but…I feel something, something more here…and it's like, I'm being pushed out without even getting a chance to fight for it! No say in the matter, nothing…And just before all of this? I was going to school to be an archeologist and ancient history historian. That my life was going to be tight but I'd make it work and leave Domino with grandpa. And now I can't focus on school…I'm not eating…I'm not sleeping…and on top of all this? My parents want to disown me…how did everything get so messed up?"

Yugi pushed his hands into his face, burying them as tightly as he could. Hearing it out loud made it make less sense now and he didn't know what to do. He was trembling, both scared and angry at how quickly he got distracted and how quickly everything spiraled out of control. He chuckled at the irony.

"And yet…Atemu came up to me to get notes the first day," Yugi removed one hand from his face to reveal a smirk, "That's how this all started. That he loved my notes and how clear they were…and now I've probably fallen behind and couldn't give him any notes at this point if he needed them. That he saw my dedication, and that's what drew him too me…"

"Then don't you think you answered your own questions?" Jou shrugged, "Listen Yug…I know you're going through some hard times, and everything seems so chaotic…I mean, what did you expect hanging out with a dueling idol? Celebrities have baggage… I mean you know that, you're good friends with another celebrity already! That maybe overthinking is what's causing all of this…right?"

Yugi looked up with a confused expression, trying to figure out where Jou was going with this.

"You think, think, think and nothing happens while you do that. You go over everything in your head and it makes less sense, well, maybe it's not meant to make sense? " Jou shook his head, "I like a girl who is at least five years older than me and that's being generous. She hardly talks to me and when she does it's usually teasing, or very small talk. Yet…she brings me supper when I work late, and she came over to keep me company while I waited for my sister's eye surgery…she's always there lately when I need her and yet the rest of the time she ignores me. I'm head over heels for her man, and I can't even hold a decent conversation with her without sounding like a total dumb ass. Love…doesn't always make sense, and won't always make sense no matter how hard you think about it…"

Yugi's eyes went wide and a dark blush went across his face, "whoa, whoa! I said nothing about love Jou I…"

"Yug, it's written all over your face…and its okay" Jou smiled, "You've always been an over thinker, and too worried to make a move…and when you finally do, you second guess yourself. Don't. You like him man, you do and you have every right to fight for him…"

"But that's the problem…I can't Jou…I'm in lo-like, I like someone I can't have…" Yugi sighed deeply, spinning the tea bag in his cup. "He's getting married in a week. And I can't even stop it"

"Why, not?" Jou asked as Yugi looked up at him, "Why can't you stop it? It's plastered all over television where the wedding is taking place…in fact they are having it right in Tokyo! There's already people going too it and it's a huge televised event so it's not like they're really going to have it under lock and key."

"Lots of people…televised…yea because THAT makes it so much easier" Yugi rolled his eyes and Jou shook his head.

"Missin' the point Yug," Jou leaned over the table so he was closer to Yugi, "You can easily sneak it, find Atem-"

"Yami." Yugi interrupted causing Jou to look extremely confused, "It's what I call him…"

"Yami then," Jou smirked as he continued, "Find him, tell him how you feel…MAKE him listen this time, all focus on you…and then escape!"

"Yes because the two tri coloured hair guys…one of which is a celebrity, is easily going to escape and runaway" Yugi sighed, "and I don't know anything about this kind of stuff…maybe I am in way over my head and I should let him go…"

"Dude…don't you think I already planned this out?" Jou grinned making Yugi even more concerned, "I already got someone who knows someone invited, and they can help us sneak in. Then we're going to distract the bride and sir fusses a lot so you can talk to Ate-Yami… They are having this big reception and gathering before the wedding, it'll be easy"

"Your plans terrify me" Yugi sighed.

"Do you want to just give up? Have you honestly come this whole way to just give up?" Jou crossed his arms and leaned back, "His dad is a bully, and forcing him into a marriage he doesn't want with a woman he's never met…well I guess they met now but … He's a bully Yug, and you've been bullied your whole life…isn't it time you fight back?"

Yugi paused for a moment. Jou was simple and not the sharpest tool in the shed but he had a point. Atemu was being forced and bullied into something, and has no idea what to do about it. He probably has never been bullied in his life and doesn't even know how to handle it. Yugi stood up quickly slamming his hands on the table and smiled at Jou.

"Let's do it. Let's break up this wedding!"

* * *

**Chapter 12 end.**

**AN: A little bit of a briefing period before the fun starts! Some more cameos about to pop up! I like to think Jou would come up with these crazy plans all the time…even in AU world. He's secretly a genius don't you guys know! LOL **


End file.
